PFI firms 'fleecing NHS'

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

But the public sector's gain from the refinancing deals has fallen around £100m short of Government predictions, said the report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

The committee warned that negotiations on PFI projects were left in the hands of local government officials who were "often painfully lacking in commercial experience" and urged the Treasury to take final responsibility for approving sensitive refinancing deals.

Doctors' representatives said the report showed how PFI was allowing private companies to "fleece" the NHS and said they would urge Tony Blair's successor to scale down its use.

But PFI was defended by the Treasury - which said taxpayers had made "significant" gains from a new system for sharing benefits from refinancing deals - and the Confederation of British Industry, which said refinancing was an "efficient, market-driven mechanism".

The report highlighted deals which have allowed PFI investors in projects such as the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, Bromley Hospital in Kent and Debden Park School in Essex to increase the rate of return on projects from around 15%-30% to 60%-70%.

The chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, Dr Jonathan Fielden, said: "This report confirms what the BMA has been saying for many years - that PFI is an expensive way of borrowing money which stores up debts for the future and drains funds away from the NHS into the pockets of the private investors.

"We can see just how damaging this is as so many NHS trusts are currently crippled with debts and are struggling to meet PFI repayments. This is already directly affecting patient care."

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "This report highlights all too clearly the lack of commercial awareness of public sector organisations negotiating PFI deals, and the result on the public purse."