Press Release - Immediate Release 01.10.02

NHS staff netting the benefits with NHSDiscounts.com

• NHSDiscounts.com hits major milestone with 50,000th member
• Recognised by DoH as significant aid to NHS recruitment and retention
• Over £2 million of NHS wages spent through the NHSDiscounts.com website

October 1, 2002 - Proving that public-private partnerships can work, an online discount service designed exclusively for NHS employees has today hit a major milestone by reaching its 50,000th member. Just one year after its launch, NHSDiscounts.com, has sailed through the 50,000-member mark to establish itself as a permanent fixture in the NHS network.

The service has been recognised by the Department of Health as an effective tool in the improvement of recruitment and retention in the NHS. Rob Sanders, Chairman, comments, "The Labour government has set out guidelines to reform professions within the health service which includes boosting the morale of staff and re-establishing the ethos that makes employees feel valued, respected and fairly rewarded. We believe that the NHSDiscounts.com community goes some way in helping to demonstrate this and is one of the reasons why our membership base continues to grow at such an astonishing rate."

Sanders continues, "This milestone also proves that it's not all doom and gloom for the NHS and its on-off relationship with e-technology, particularly as we are still attracting over 1,000 new NHS employees to the site each week. Approximately 20% of our members have made a purchase through the site and for a high percentage of these users, it will be their first time using the Internet, let alone completing an online transaction. Our members are incentivised to get on the Internet and register with us when they hear about the discounts that are available at the site."

The site has attracted NHS employees across the board, from porters, nurses and doctors to managers, ambulance staff and consultants. Its continued popularity is attributed to the significant discounts that it negotiates with top consumer brands, with some companies providing unprecedented discounts at the site, exclusively for NHS employees. Some discounts include:

• A reduced mortgage rate with the Halifax building society
• Discounts off household appliances at Currys and Dixons
• Up to 50% off books and medical titles at WHSmiths
• 5% off computers and games consoles at PC World
• Up to 75% off gym memberships

Recent media reports have focused on the growing number of NHS staff who migrate across to the private sector in search of attractive financial benefits and the role of NHSDiscounts is to provide some of those benefits for staff and help motivate them to stay working with the NHS.

With NHSDiscounts.com already an established member of the NHS family, the company is now looking to expand the service into other areas of public sector employment, starting with the forthcoming launch of Teachersdiscounts.com in November 2002.

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For further information about www.nhsdiscounts.com, contact the PressRoom on 0808 1000 181 or email; pressroom@nhsdiscounts.com

About NHSDiscounts

NHSDiscounts is an online community dedicated to helping all members of the NHS to save money. Launched in August 2001, the site is completely free to join and has already attracted over 50,000 members from all sectors of the NHS. It negotiates discounts with many well-known High Street brands such as Dixons, Currys, WHSmith, PC World, the AA, Eaglestar Insurance and the Halifax. These discounts are made available to all members of the NHS via the Internet and can save staff up to 10% of their annual salary.

NHSDiscounts has also created an interactive community section where members can enter a wide range of competitions to win cash prizes of up to £1000, submit jokes to win prizes and catch-up on all the latest news in the health service. Membership to the site is only available to NHS employees and their families. More information can be found at www.nhsdiscounts.com.