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Doctors fear private finance bed cuts
00:00 23 Apr 1997
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The PFI will lead to "a shrunken NHS, unable to provide a
comprehensive range of health services to all sections of the
community", according to a paper in this week's British Medical
Journal.
Dr Allyson Pollock and colleagues investigated 17 first-wave PFI hospital schemes, accounting for some 5 per cent of all acute beds in England and almost a quarter in Scotland. A detailed study of three hospital PFI schemes was also carried out in three areas; Lothian, Calderdale and Bromley.
Dr Pollock forecast bed reductions of around 26 per cent for England and 30 per cent for Scotland over the next five to seven years for those hospitals involved in PFI projects.
The authors state that the available data is incomplete because NHS trusts have not carried out the necessary analyses or because business plans have not been published during the consultation process.
However, they note that patient throughput on each site would have to increase to unrealistic levels over the next five years to cope with the proposed reduction in beds.
Dr Allyson Pollock and colleagues investigated 17 first-wave PFI hospital schemes, accounting for some 5 per cent of all acute beds in England and almost a quarter in Scotland. A detailed study of three hospital PFI schemes was also carried out in three areas; Lothian, Calderdale and Bromley.
Dr Pollock forecast bed reductions of around 26 per cent for England and 30 per cent for Scotland over the next five to seven years for those hospitals involved in PFI projects.
The authors state that the available data is incomplete because NHS trusts have not carried out the necessary analyses or because business plans have not been published during the consultation process.
However, they note that patient throughput on each site would have to increase to unrealistic levels over the next five years to cope with the proposed reduction in beds.
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