London protest warns against crippling PFI debts ‘bleeding NHS hospitals dry’

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(image by @jjjstevenson)

(image by @jjjstevenson)

Campaigners travelled across London on a “battle bus” on Saturday in protest against the corrosive impact of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts on Britain’s public health service. They warn hospitals in London are crumbling under toxic PFI debts.

Part of a worldwide program of privatization and
financialization, PFI schemes use private capital to fund public
infrastructure development. They were first introduced to Britain
in 1992.

Saturday’s protest was organized by a collective of campaigners
who argue public health services in Britain are collapsing under
the weight of mounting PFI debts.

Activists travelling on the battle bus called upon the British
government to address Britain’s PFI debt crisis. They also
demanded it acknowledge that excessive debts generated through
these schemes impact on ordinary taxpayers while wealthy
investors profit.

British taxpayers are estimated to owe roughly £222 billion ($337
billion) to banks and private firms under 720 PFI contracts. By
2050, the UK’s total PFI bill could amount to £310 billion ($470
billion) or four times the UK’s deficit, experts suggest. Critics
warn these contracts are overpriced, shrouded in secrecy and – in
certain instances – dependent on criminally rigged Libor rates.

Campaigners who took part in Saturday’s demonstration insist
failed attempts by British health trusts to cope with increasing
PFI debts have bred acute crises in public hospitals across
London. They cite Whipps Cross University Hospital as an example
of the destructive impact of PFI contracts on local health
services.

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Whipps Cross is one of six hospitals run by Barts Health National
Trust. The largest health trust in England, Barts Health is bound
by a 43 year PFI contract worth £1 billion ($1.5 billion). Since
its founding, the contract has burdened the trust with debts of
£93 million ($141 million).

The extent of the crisis at Whipps Cross University Hospital was
highlighted in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report published
in mid-March.

The study unveiled damning practices at the hopsital, including
poor quality Accident and Emergency (AE) care, insufficient
staff numbers, over-stretched staff, low morale, a culture of
harassment and bullying, long patient waiting times, and a heavy
reliance on agency employees.

The health care regulator’s probe also revealed terminally ill
patients had been offered sub-standard care, not enough priority
was afforded to patient safety, and some patients were not
offered sufficient medication to manage pain stemming from their
ailments.

In the wake of the CQC’s findings, Barts Health was put into
special measures. It is one of 21 health trusts that have faced
tough regulatory action from the Commission since 2013.

Campaigners argue Barts Health’s PFI contract allows the private
sector to overcharge British taxpayers as the trust’s hospitals
take a hit. They say the trust’s mounting PFI debt largely stems
from construction work carried out at its Royal London Hospital,
and general maintenance elsewhere.

Dr. Ron Singer, a leading organizer of Saturday’s protest, said
the NHS is currently being “ripped off.”

“Our taxes should pay for health care, not wealth care for
big business,” he told RT.

Singer stressed a sustainable solution is required to address the
“massive payments” being funneled to private investors
under Britain’s PFI schemes.

“We want all the parties to tell us all how they will deal
with the huge PFI debts – not just at Barts Health, but at every
PFI hospital across the country,” he said.

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