NHS: Review dodges PFI questions
WORKERS, JAN 2008 ISSUE
The Interim Chief Executive of Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust in South East London, languishing under a PFI contract that guarantees a £972 million payout to the successful consortium over the first 30 years of the contract, has announced an independent review of the trust's finances and governance.
Unison's call for the review to start with the PFI project planning in the late 1990s has been sidestepped; the review will only go back to the period immediately after the signing of the PFI contracts.
The trust's forecast deficit of £9 million in 2007–8 has now become £23 million, and accumulated debt is estimated at £87 million.