Legislation should be introduced to allow the NHS to buy out private finance initiative (PFI) contracts for hospital beds and other essential services. One of the trusts that left its PFI - Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust - managed to save over £3m a year in repayments, reducing its financial liability by a third. , 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 Trusts with huge fees and repayments, which are still diverting billions of pounds from patient care to private companies, said Chris Thomas from the think tank. It has been estimated that by 2050, £80bn ($98bn) in fees will have been paid for £13bn worth of buildings.
Legislation should be introduced to allow the NHS to buy out private finance initiative (PFI) contracts for hospital beds and other essential services. , 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 Trusts with huge fees and repayments, which are still diverting billions of pounds from patient care to private companies, said Chris Thomas from the think tank. It has been estimated that by 2050, £80bn ($98bn) in fees will have been paid for £13bn worth of buildings.