Portuguese public hospitals owe a record €1.3 billion to suppliers

LONDON, UK, 7 September 2011 – Proceur Ltd, the European healthcare procurement network, continues to note increasing austerity measures impacting the ability to deliver sustainable healthcare services across the European Union.  The Portuguese government now owes €4 billion of outstanding bills – with hospitals being one of the worst offenders, owing a record €1.3 billion.  This news follows austerity measures designed to save a further €1.3 billion healthcare costs by 2013, through:

• A 12.5% cut to reimbursement to private operators for diagnostic imaging, clinical laboratory services and dialysis services.  The private sector provides around 60% of imaging and 90% of dialysis sessions, according to Healthcare Europa;
• Allowing 14 public hospitals to enter bankruptcy;
• Reducing managerial positions in the health sector by 30%; and
• Closing a third of the agencies overseen by Ministry of Health

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About Proceur Ltd

Proceur brings European healthcare buyers and suppliers closer together.  We help healthcare services organisations better manage their procurement expenditure by reducing complexity and cost, allowing savings to be reinvested in service expansion.  For suppliers, the European customer base remains highly fragmented – with over 50,000 healthcare locations across 27 countries.  Proceur rationalises market access costs through our proprietary buying network.  The company was founded in 2011 by Martin Whitbread, an expert in healthcare services with over a decade in the industry as an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.  For more information, visit www.proceur.com.

For further information please contact:

Proceur Ltd

Martin Whitbread, Chief Executive Officer      +44 20 72 22 22 90        This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.