Protest as NHS set to confirm private partnership hospital

Published on Tuesday 30 January 2007 01:28

Key quote

"There is a deep concern that these deals may not represent value for money and could lock the NHS into potentially expensive contracts for many years." - spokeswoman for British Medical Association

Story in full A HEALTH board is today expected to confirm that a new 300 million hospital will be built under a controversial private finance partnership.

NHS Forth Valley will make an announcement about the fate of the planned "super hospital" in Larbert after its board meeting this morning. But the SNP is protesting against the scheme amid concern over other similar projects which have been plagued by financial difficulties.

The party says it is "deeply concerned" about the plans for the hospital, which will replace Falkirk Royal Infirmary and Stirling Royal Infirmary. It is also thought there is disquiet within the health board about plans to go down the private partnership route.

The move comes after the prisons company Serco yesterday lost its bid to become the first private firm to run a GP practice in Scotland.

Last year NHS Forth Valley indicated that it believed a partnership project for its Larbert hospital would prove the best value for money, rather than using public cash. It said that after a "tough and rigorous process" to select a partner to work with, it had chosen Equion, part of the construction company Laing, as its preferred bidder for the project.

The SNP said it strongly feared that this decision would be officially confirmed today by the board - paving the way for the biggest private partnership project of its kind in Scotland.

SNP MSPs Michael Matheson and Bruce Crawford will join protesters at the NHS Forth Valley HQ in Stirling.

Shona Robison, SNP health spokeswoman, said the party would stop any future partnership projects. "An SNP government will match the current hospital building programme brick for brick and offer a Scottish Futures Trust as a new, better-value option for future infrastructure funding," she said.

"We want a scheme which doesn't take money away from frontline services."

The British Medical Association also opposes partnership projects to build hospitals. A spokeswoman said: "There is a deep concern that these deals may not represent value for money and could lock the NHS into potentially expensive contracts for many years."

The BMA welcomed the decision not to award the contract to run the Harthill GP surgery in North Lanarkshire to Serco.

NHS Lanarkshire announced yesterday that the contract had been awarded to Dr Louise Eccles and Dr Alan Grant. Dr Eccles was one half of the partnership that ran the surgery before it went up for tender.

When looking for someone to run the surgery, NHS Lanarkshire decided to open up tendering to "alternative health providers" as well as GPs. The board received three bids - one from Serco and two from GP practices.

The BMA spokeswoman said: "We welcome the decision to award the contract to two GPs."

A Serco spokesman said: "Obviously we are disappointed but the fact that we reached the final stage indicates we put together a good proposal. We believe the NHS is benefiting from our expertise in managing services."

Andy Kerr, the health minister, commented: "I have said on many occasions that the interests of patients must always come first and that I saw no need for the traditional model of GP provision to change. I am delighted that the panel of the board have awarded the contract to Dr Eccles and Dr Grant."