8 June 2018
It is not a reproach, but a lot of unnecessary runs are made.
Healthcare institutions are there to provide care and need tools for this. But actually owning a resource fleet is not a core business. In fact: efficient deployment often only gets in the way. That is why Vegro offers a lease construction. Relieving and saving are the keywords.
“Yes, and I would dare to say: save considerably,” says Frank Huiting, account manager for the Northeast region at Vegro. “If an institution itself has resources, and that is now usually the case, then one often has to deal with hidden costs. Some of these are avoidable costs.” Of course it is nothing new in healthcare. We know leased devices in specialized care. But for the simpler medical devices, the lease option is less in sight. Lifts and beds are traditionally often owned by hospitals or other healthcare institutions.
“Those aids are perceived as difficult, and that makes sense, because they are constantly being moved and are needed at different times in different places,” says Huiting. “The core of the activity is the care itself, and not the cleaning, registering or testing of beds, not to mention the logistical operations that must all be carried out. So we notice that a question arises in the care country, a question I give an example: a hospital wants to invest in two hundred new beds, and then we say, “Do you want new beds? Or do you want constant availability of two hundred berths? Fully facilitated with inspection, cleaning, etc. Well, then leasing a better solution, and by that I mean: operational leasing, which includes the purchase, therefore the depreciation costs, the periodic cleaning, replacement, repairs and inspection - in short: all those operations that normally have to be performed to improve the functionality of the devices. "
Logistics
Vegro maps out the entire logistics process for such a lease process. Huiting: “Together with the institution we will redesign the process as efficiently as possible. Together we analyze what is present in the hospital, which people are involved, what they do, down to the smallest details. In practice, it appears then there is a lot to save, especially in hidden wage costs, and many unnecessary runs are made, which is not a fault of the institution: it is aimed at providing the best possible care in an efficient manner, and not dealing with the resource park as conveniently as possible. "
Total costs
Hidden costs must therefore also be involved in a decision about whether or not to lease. In the industry it is now customary to think in terms of the total costs during the entire lifespan of a business asset, so including maintenance. Optimizing this is sometimes quite difficult, because maintenance costs are often hidden in the overhead: it concerns, for example, the technical service that sometimes does this, and then does that again. Huiting: “Nevertheless, it is quite possible to map the total costs of ownership. I would add that it must be a resource park of some size. It makes no sense to do this for six beds and one hoist. "
Vegro has entered into a partnership with Rabo subsidiary De Lage Landen.
Constructions
Just like with cars, Vegro has different lease forms. Huiting: “In the case of an operational lease, the investment is made by Vegro. The institution’s balance sheet therefore remains clean. All costs are included in the lease amount. In the case of a financial lease, the investment is included in the balance sheet, but as it were, Vegro advances. For this, Vegro has entered into a partnership with Rabo subsidiary De Lage Landen, which is very well known in the healthcare sector, and it is also possible to get in with an existing resource fleet, Vegro then buys the resources and leases them back to the institution “Financial resources are therefore available which can be used to invest more in the core area of the institution.”
The expectation is that lease constructions for aids can take a considerable flight. Huiting: “Sometimes it is also very obvious. Especially when an institution is making an investment decision, it suddenly becomes obvious to take this option into consideration. We are now working at a hospital in the north of The Netherlands The hospital has a large fleet of medical aids, which is partly dated, and should it be invested in it? These are non-critical aids, and then it is time to take a very analytical look at the costs. "
Vegro magazine No 15 EDITION 2018, pages 10 and 11. [pdf in dutch]