The NHS has been warned of “crippling” cost pressures from its PFI contracts over the next decade, when aggregate repayments on the deals will reach their peak.
The warning has been issued in new research which explores various policy changes to ease the pressures, while concerns have also been raised by a former chief executive of NHS Improvement.
Analysis by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest found the annual “unitary payments” on private finance initiative contracts held by all government departments peaked at around £10.5bn in 2017-18.
But unitary payments due on NHS contracts will continue rising over the next 10 years, from £2.2bn in 2019-20 to their peak of £2.7bn in 2029-30.
Full story in The HSJ, 18 October 2018