NHS pays 'extortionate' 328 per cent mark-up on printer parts For instance, it was revealed that the NHS pays £6 for laser printer part that costs just £1.40 wholesale. The NHS also pays £10.50 for a 4GB USB flash memory stick that is sold at wholesale for £5.28, and available to the public on Amazon for £5.99. A basic three-metre internet cable can cost hospitals £1.73, versus 72 pence at wholesale. On average, at central and regional levels, the NHS buys computer services and equipment at 28 per cent more than their wholesale price, compared to the best average in the private sector of only 3 per cent, said Mercato, a firm which tracks government and commercial IT procurement. As well as basic items this includes expensive equipment such as servers, and software. It was found that the NHS overall pays the third-highest prices for computer products and services of any sector, behind only housing associations and retailers, which do not have its huge scale and buying power. Banks, utilities and telecoms firms all pay on average less that 20 per cent margin. The embarrassing figures come as NHS chiefs aim to save £20bn in efficiencies by 2012. "The NHS could get more and better IT for the same money," said Al Nagar of Mercato. The firm said the margins paid by NHS procurement managers were often "extortionate." "The NHS is overspending on its IT as a result of the fast moving market and this is hitting bottom lines at a time when it is fighting to become more efficient," said Mr Nagar. Many hospitals are also bearing heavy costs imposed by Labour's Private Finance Initiative, which involved companies taking on the upfront capital costs of new buildings in return for lucrative maintenance contracts over long periods of time. The Daily telegraph reported complaints from one Trust that it was forced to pay £333 to have a light bulb changed and another that was charged £963 for a new TV aerial. The Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.