Lord Carter says managers must make savings in staff costs a 'particular priority' Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The NHS is wasting £5 billion a year through inefficient use of people, land and equipment, according to a report.

Lord Carter of Coles called on the health service to "create a culture of relentless cost containment" and develop hospital efficiency rankings to help squeeze out waste, after studying 22 hospitals in detail.

His report was welcomed by managers who are faced with finding £22 billion of savings over the next five years but doctors warned his plans must not become back-door cuts.

The report, commissioned by Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, estimates that £1 billion of savings could come from national standardising of prices paid for medical equipment, with similar amounts coming from managing medicines better and running hospital buildings more efficiently.

Lord Carter…