LABOUR’S £1 BILLION NHS BURDEN

Linda Fabiani MSP, has condemned the figures showing the NHS will have to pay over £1 billion in the next five years for projects built using the Labour Party’s PFI/PPP funding mechanism.

The costs include that of Hairmyres and Wishaw General Hospitals, which cost £68 million and £121million respectively to build but, the repayments in the next five years amount to £106.56 million and £136.49 million. This is on top of the £172.72 million already paid over the past ten years for Hairmures and £260.74 for Wishaw General. The total cost over a 30 year period for these PFI hospitals amounts to £1472.59 million.

Commenting on the release of the figures complied by the Treasury, Linda Fabiani said:

“These figures show the absolute folly of the PFI/PPP policy introduced by the Labour Party and championed by Labour MSPs, MPs and Councillors alike.

“It is appalling that the tax payer is forced to continue funding these projects over such a prolonged period of time even though the initial costs have all been met. These are extortionate schemes and they should never have been foisted upon the public.

“This is money that comes directly out of NHS budgets and frontline services. The price we are paying for Hairmyres alone would have paid for nine new hospitals but instead, every year for the next 20 years NHS Lanarkshire will have to pay out millions of pounds from its budget before they can even consider the health priorities of its patients.

“Over the next five years NHS Lanarkshire will have to pay over £243 million to private consortiums before spending a penny on health care. This is not right, it is a policy which benefits no one other than the businesses making a great profit from it, but this is public money and it has a far greater value if it could be spent in the NHS and serving the public good.

“We have the further ridiculous situation that the NHS don’t own the hospitals and won’t own them even at the end of the payment period. So we are paying these millions of pounds to simply rent a building.

“Labour has been completely irresponsible in its management of capital projects just as it has been over the economy. Like all of these PFI/PPP projects NHS Lanarkshire is paying far in excess of the value of the buildings. I’m sure NHS management would rather have the millions of pounds to spend on patient services.

“Labour ought to apologise for the burden of repayments for PFI/PPP projects, admit that their policy has encumbered the NHS with unnecessary debt and bin their support for this policy.

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