Oxfordshire NHS bosses have been praised by MPs for leading the way in the efficient use of medical equipment, and saving money to spend on patients.

The all-party House of Commons Public Accounts Committee urged National Health Service chiefs to do more to identify good practice and spread it nationwide.

In a report on the management of medical equipment in NHS trusts, the committee said: "Trusts can deliver major savings, which can then be used to improve healthcare."

And top of the list, the MPs said, was the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Trust. Managers there saved 500,000 from expenditure of 3.8m by involving the medical engineering department in co-ordinating purchases of equipment for several Trusts.

The report also praised a medical equipment library system organised for the Oxfordshire Community Health Trust which showed annual savings of more than 900,000.