NHS hospitals are wasting more than £5 million a year each on rubber gloves, a new report reveals.

Health chiefs could pay for nearly 900 knee replacements or 800 hip replacements with the money some trusts spend procuring the needlessly expensive items, the document says.

The report by NHS Improvement, which oversees hospitals in England, found huge variation in the price different trusts for the same equipment.

While boxes of 100 rubber examination gloves are available from 65p, some hospital bosses are paying up to £1.84.

Nearly seven million gloves are used by hospitals each year.

Meanwhile the report found that the NHS could free up £3.7 million if hospitals paid the minimum for some syringes, prices of which vary from £323 to £553 for a pack of 50.

The money could pay for 28 new ambulances or 74 rapid response vehicles, NHS Improvement said.

However, the organisation said £288 million had been saved by better procurement over the last financial year, thanks partly to software enabling managers to see what deals other hospitals are getting on equipment.

This includes £106,000 saved on lavatory roles after 184 trusts joined together to buy they them from a single supplier, and £824,000 saved in larger wider couch rolls after 227 trusts teamed together.