Health chief pledges hospital will not shut

Regulator unveils new action plan to tackle funding crisis

Cash- strapped Peterborough City Hospital will stay open health chiefs have vowed despite needing a huge bail out from the public purse. It is estimated it couldcost the taxpayer £ 500,000 a week for 30 years to keep the Bretton hospital afloat.

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson says he has been given a pledge by the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt that the £ 289- million hospital in Bretton will not close.

News of the pledge comes at the same time as the publ i cation by the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee of the results of its inquiry into how a crippling loan was secured to fund the construction of the 611- bed hospital.

Under the private finance initiative funding agreement, the cost of repaying the loans means the Peterborough and Stamford NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust’s liability is about £ 411 million over the 30 year lifetime of the agreement yet the book value of the hospital is £ 289 million.

The costs of the PFI account for half of the hospital’s annual deficit.

Thehospital has anannual income of £ 210 million and is facing a £54 million deficit this financial year.

The PAC report is critical of all major health bodies for allowing the loan to beagreed.

It states that as a result: “Thetrust’s financial position is nowsoserious that even if it achieves challenging annual savings, it will require significant financial support to remain viable.”

The trust, which has already made £ 13.2 million of savings this financialyear, has also just received a bail out of upto£ 50 million from the government for the current financial year.

The health regulator, Monitor, has today announced it is sending a teamof experts into the hospital to try and resolve the crisis.

Mr Jackson said:“I spoketo Mr Hunt about the city’s hospital and he told me it was safe and that there was no question of it closing.”

He added:“The PFI deal for Peterborough and Stamford has proved catastrophic.

“The Trust will have to make unprecedented levels of savings to becomeviable. In Peterborough andStamford’s case, this won’t be enough... with unknown consequences for patients in theareaandthe taxpayer.”

He added: “I will be meeting regularly with the hospital’s chief executive Dr Peter Reading to make sure that medical services are not cut.”

Dr Readingsaid: “This hospital will not shut. Closing ser vices will not make sense. We have to make more efficient use of the services that we provide.”

Health Minister Lord Howe said:“We will not sweep these problems under the carpet. Our priority will be to ensure the needs of local patients continue to be met in the best way. We are working to ensure patients continue to have access to high quality services.”

Peterborough City Hospital.