Richard Threlfall, UK head for infrastructure, building and construction comments on the debate of whether NHS trusts are “at risk” from PFI costs:
“PFI is a policy that was started by the Conservatives and continued by Labour and a political consensus on this policy has existed for almost 20 years.”
“There are always going to be examples where planning was imperfect and assets were built that were too big and too costly. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that many Trusts manage well with PFIs including large PFIs. The University Hospitals Birmingham and University College London are examples. The real issue is the broader need for efficiency in the NHS not the cost of PFI. NHS Trusts are having to make big cost savings and where they have costs like the rental on a building, that forces them to make bigger savings elsewhere.”
“In ordinary language, we'd all like to buy our houses without a mortgage but life isn't like that. The problem NHS Trusts are facing is no different to the one of millions of people across the country – how to make savings when you have a mortgage or rent to pay on your house. You can’t overnight change the size or cost of a hospital, so it s a fixed cost you have to accommodate.”
“A large number of countries - developed and developing - are now using PFI or hybrid PFI models in order to modernise their infrastructure and improve care. In a world of fiscal austerity, when the Government has no money, PFI is one of the few ways of getting private money into infrastructure.”
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For further information please contact
Katrin Boettger
Tel: +44 207 896 4232
KPMG press office: +44 207 694 8773
Email: Katrin.boettger@kpmg.co.uk
About KPMG:
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