In the 1990s the Government built hospitals by borrowing from the private sector rather than using government borrowing.
This doubled the cost. It also loaded down the NHS with debts, and allowed rampant profiteering. The contracts were ringfenced – all other aspects of a hospital’s spending could be cut, but PFI payments must always be made.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woolwich (QEH) was built using PFI. The private company which holds the PFI contract was paid £37million by the hospital Trust last year, and pocketed £9 million in profit. That is, one quarter of what the Trust paid went into profits!
£100 million of our money has gone to pre-tax profits since the start of this contract. That is on top of what the bankers and other moneylenders made from repayment of the debt some of it at obscene rates of interest.
Across the NHS such profits could pay for all the urgent repairs needed / reduce the deficits / increase wages etc.
The Labour Government is demanding that the NHS makes billions of pounds of ‘efficiency savings’. This means savage cuts. But no-one can touch PF1 payments, so the cuts will fall on staff and services.
MAKE THE BANKERS PAY
AND SAVE OUR HOSPITAL SERVICES!
We call on Lewisham and Greenwich Hospital Trust to:
CLAW BACK THE PROFITS!
PFIs are just one aspect of privatisation
One third of NHS funding is paid out to private companies on contracts which the NHS used to do (eg simple operations, testing, cleaning). Over 10 years companies have earned £6 billion in profit.
£6 billion that could have gone into patient care!
Reclaim the NHS campaigns against all forms of privatisation in the NHS. We call instead to:
RENATIONALISE THE NHS!