Deficits Before Patients

A report on the Worcester Royal Infirmary PFI and Worcestershire Hospital reconfiguration by Prof Allyson Pollock, David Price and Dr Matthew Dunnigan, School of Public Policy, University College London.

This report was published in June 2000 and is highly critical of the Private Finance initiative (PFI). It shows, using the Trust's own facts and figures, that the new hospital in Worcester being built under the PFI will cost 118% more than was originally planned, that it will lead to a large reduction in the numbers of acute hospital beds between Worcester and Kidderminster and to large reductions in ancillary workers and nurses.

It shows that even with the virtual closure of Kidderminster Hospital the new hospital remains unaffordable and that there are doubts about the safety of the Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic unit (ACAD) planned for Kidderminster.

This report was met with horror by the Worcestershire Health Authority (WHA) and NHS Executive (West Midlands). Both of these bodies issued rebuttal documents which instead of producing facts to disprove the UCL report simply denied some of the report's assertions and attempted to denigrate the authors because they are known critics of the PFI which is supported by both main political parties.

The authors from UCL responded in detail and concluded that the WHA response was "highly misleading. Statements in it are not backed up by evidence, it repeatedly misrepresents deficits before Patients, and contradicts previously published data. The document reflects badly on the authorities. It is reprehensible for public servants to promote controversial and inadequate policy proposals by these means. We stand by the report."