PFI

Deborah Orr’s well written article (Weekend Guardian – 30.06.12.) exposes all the iniquities of the flawed PFI process which has lumbered the NHS with enormous capital debts. She rightly points out that politicians of all parties have at one time or another supported this devious bit of legislation. However Deborah, along with all the parliamentarians….

The Draft Report of the Trust Special Administrator (TSA) called in to deal with the financial crisis at South London Healthcare Trust centres mainly on changes at the neighbouring University Hospital Lewisham. It is proposed that this hospital should lose its A&E and its critical care, complex surgery and complex medical services, despite the fact….

The first article by Jonathon Tomlinson a GP from Hoxton (inner city London GP practice) on this website, gives you an insight into how the market has “forced” hospitals to use gaming tactics in order to finance their budget. You should read this in conjunction with Matthew Dunnigan’s research showing the exorbitant way in which….

As the government looks to open up the NHS further to private companies, it has been as coy in its description of the companies looking to profit from this as the companies themselves. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley hardly mentions that these companies will be making a profit from his reforms, preferring to talk about modernisation….

This lecture, given at Goldsmiths College, is based on the book The Plot Against the NHS, by Colin Leys and Stewart Player, published on April 14th. The common view of the changes proposed in the government’s Health and Social Care Bill is that they would be the most radical changes ever made to the NHS…..

Labour ministers only paid £5 billion of the £65 billion “spent” on building more than 100 hospitals between 1997 and 2010. The rest of the money, some £60 billion, must still be repaid by the taxpayer – with some of the gigantic debt lasting for more than 30 years.   The highest profile case concerns….

Ring fencing of private finance initiative payments prioritises investor returns over patient care and calls for tighter monitoring and renegotiation. The NHS is facing serious revenue pressures if it is to meet the target of £15bn-20bn efficiency savings by 2013-4. One important pressure for trust budgets in England is the annual private finance initiative (PFI)….

St George’s Hospital Tooting will ‘axe 500 jobs’ Unison claims that there are plans to cut 500 jobs in an attempt to save £55m in the next financial year. One wonders why such large cuts are needed when, unlike Barts/London, their massive PFI which was opened in 2003 only cost £48m. Barts/London are only planning….

Who will service the Debts of defunct PCTs – Alison Moore1 Public Finance 28 January 2011 Primary care trusts are in the exit lounge as ministers prepare to hand over NHS commissioning powers to GPs. But with many trusts heading for the red – and waiting times and rationing on the rise – could creating….