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Bishop Mike’s blog
an extract from 13 August.
An interesting insight of the
legacy that we will probably pass on to
future generations.
The revelation that Private
Funding Initiative (PFI) projects cost the NHS
£65billion per annum shouldn’t
really surprise us, but it should worry us.
True, this has meant a rapid
expansion in hospital building and it’s difficult to
see that what has been
achieved could have been achieved without some kind
of additional financial input.
This all felt more manageable
when there was cash in the system, but less so
when money is tight. Bear in
mind that the £65billion actually represents fixed
costs. In other words, none of
these costs are optional and they are ongoing.
Some of the contracts are
extremely complex and are tied in to catering and
cleaning contracts and the
repayment costs are expensive.
Of course it is easy to be
wise with hindsight. However, the long term fixed
costs associated with these
projects, plus the lack of flexibility, were aspects
associated with these projects
that made many of us nervous when all this
was being planned. The
question is whether we shall learn from all this?
The lure of a gleaming new
hospital now seems less attractive when our
children will end up paying the cost for
some time to come. |