NHS PFIs must be reformed to help patients, warns report

Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) in the NHS must be reformed to obtain full benefits for patients, according to a recent NHS Confederation report.

The 'Getting the best out of future capital investment in health' report has called for more flexibility during the whole PFI process and has produced a 10-point agenda for change.
 
This includes:

* Developing a more flexible PFI regime which allows NHS trusts to adapt to the fast-changing healthcare environment.
 
* Ensuring bed numbers are based on robust assessments of local needs.
 
* Reforming the appraisal model to support investment in good design.

* Dramatically cutting red tape by streamlining the number of project reviews.

 
* Overhauling the bidding process to cut legal costs and make better use of scarce planning and design skills.

Gill Morgan, NHS Confederation's chief executive, said: "PFI contracts usually span 30 years. During this time, new technology and new ways of working will transform how we provide hospital care. It has become increasingly clear that the PFI process needs to be less rigid to give trusts the flexibility they need to build hospitals that stand the test of time."

She added: "With a new round of PFI investment about to be announced, we believe there is now a real opportunity to take these reforms forward. We look forward to working with government, unions, our commercial partners, and other stakeholders to seize this chance to develop a new generation of PFI schemes fit for the decades ahead."