Labour's PFI & Tory Austerity Threaten NHS

“The English Health Service is struggling under the massive PFI debts left by the previous Labour government, and current Tory austerity measures increase the financial burden even further. Both need to be held to account.”

Stephen Morris, General Secretary

How PFI Has Undermined the NHS

Through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme, private companies have built NHS hospitals and then leased them back to the NHS, often also operating key support services under these contracts. While this arrangement has been highly profitable for private firms, concerns that PFI offers very poor value for public money are now being borne out.

A growing number of NHS hospitals are struggling to cope with the cost of meeting their PFI debts. For example, South London Healthcare Trust was put into administration after being named among 22 trusts burdened with PFI debt.

“In 1990, hospitals paid no charge on their land, buildings and assets; today many PFI hospitals are paying more than 15%. The figure is rising fast.”
Professor Allyson Pollock

Further Reading & Analysis

• How PFI is Crippling the NHS
• Private finance initiatives during NHS austerity – Data partly from a 2009 report by Moritz Liebe and Allison Pollock (PDF).

Related Internal Links

Explore more on Labour’s Great PFI Swindle & Tory Austerity and other critical analyses of the NHS.

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