“Health centres won’t get built without private investment” - Lord Hutton in the Guardian

The chair of the AIIP, Lord Hutton, has written in the Guardian letters page, responding to some of the myths being spread about private investment in the NHS.

The reality of private investment in NHS is:
👉 construction more likely to be "on time and on budget" (NAO)
👉 locks in maintenance for years protecting from cost cutting
👉 new models can give stake to public sector, in genuine partnership

Full text of letter:

Labour MPs urging the chancellor to drop private finance plans for the NHS overlook the danger that, under the current fiscal rules, health centres won’t get built without private investment. As the National Audit Office found, PFI built projects “on time and on budget”. It also locked in maintenance for years – protecting the NHS from cost‑cutting chancellors.

Ninety hospitals were rebuilt under PFIs in less than a decade, with better value for money. By contrast, the non-PFI new hospital building programme, announced six years ago, will not see most hospitals start being built until 2032.

The NHS Lift (local improvement finance trust) programme – which gave a stake to the public sector – built 350 health centres in some of the most deprived communities. We can’t let ideology leave NHS patients waiting in crumbling and overcrowded buildings.

Private finance plans for NHS buildings | NHS | The Guardian