Rules should be introduced to allow the NHS to buy out private finance initiative ( PFI ) hospital contracts that were agreed across England over the last two decades , the Institute for Public Policy Research has said . The contracts , which saw private firms pay for new NHS buildings and hospitals in return for annual repayments , left NHS hospitals with huge fees and repayments , which are still shifting billions of pounds from patient care to private companies , said David Thomas from the think tank . The IPPR wants a legal right to be created to allow the NHS to buy out the contracts at a fair price - similar to the way leaseholders can buy the freeholds for their homes. It has been estimated that by 2050 , $ 80bn ( $ 1 ) in fees will have been paid for £ 13bn worth of buildings .
Rules should be introduced to allow the NHS to buy out private finance initiative ( PFI ) hospital contracts that were agreed across England over the last two decades , the Institute for Public Policy Research has said . The contracts , which saw private firms pay for new NHS buildings and hospitals in return for annual repayments , left NHS hospitals with huge fees and repayments , which are still shifting billions of pounds from patient care to private companies , said David Thomas from the think tank . It has been estimated that by 2050 , $ 80bn ( $ 1 ) in fees will have been paid for £ 13bn worth of buildings .