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Flagship
PFI hospital slips further into the red
UNIVERSITY College London Hospital’s deficit has almost
doubled – to nearly £30 million – and it hasn’t
been open a year yet.
Since the New Journal revealed the hospital’s £17-million
deficit in December costs have continued to rocket, UCLH finance
chief Mike Foster announced yesterday.
Announcing figures for January at a board of directors meeting
yesterday, Mr Foster said the hospital was managing its creditors
“particularly carefully”.
He said: “January’s position is not as encouraging
as we had hoped but we note from early activity in February
the position appears to be more encouraging.”
The hospital’s financial status could be worsened when
NHS tariffs – the amount hospitals are paid for per average
procedure – are announced later this month.
Original tariff guidelines were withdrawn on February 26 leaving
hospitals all over the country unable to make final budget predictions.
Chairman Peter Dixon told yesterday’s (Wednesday’s)
meeting: “This is proving immensely complicated. We’re
in a world that people don’t fully understand”.
The latest figures come one month after UCLH chief executive
Robert Naylor told the New Journal he was “not unduly worried”
about the rising figures and expected the situation to plateau
by April.
With several offers of over £100m for the old Middlesex
Hospital site, Mr Naylor says the foundation hospital will recoup
its losses and make a “huge profit” from the sale
of its assets.
The £422-million PFI hospital, which was officially opened
by the Queen in October, first began treating patients in June
2005. |
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