The private finance initiative. Planning the 'new' NHS: Downsizing for the 21st century

Hospitals funded through the private finance initiative are being planned on the basis of financial, not clinical, needs. The data used in support of private finance initiative planning do not conform to the Department of Health's standards and definitions. Full business cases under the private finance initiative are incomplete with respect to total and specialty bed numbers, the caseload to be treated, and the service needs of the population. Private finance initiative hospitals entail major reductions in the clinical workforce, and service capacity - in direct contradiction of government policy. In many areas private finance initiative hospitals will need to generate income from private patients; as a result some hospitals have increased the proportion of private beds. The private finance initiative will result in a shrunken NHS, inadequate to meet the needs of the population.