A warm welcome to the new health centre … but we’ll be paying through the nose for it
The new health centre in Dunnock Way provides much-needed modern facilities housing a GP practice, community nursing services, a dental practice and pharmacy as well as counselling and advice services.
But unlike the old building it replaces, the new centre has been built for private profit and taxpayers will be footing the bill for years to come.
Financed by a version of the controversial private finance initiative (PFI), the new £3.3m health centre is likely to cost at least 30% more than if the NHS itself had borrowed the money to build it.
But it could be much worse.
Some PFI hospitals have ended up costing over four times as much as if they had been built by the public sector.
The extra money-running into billions across the UK- goes into the pockets of the private backers of PFI projects.
This seems to be New Labour’s agenda.
Leys Independent, issue 32, April 2006
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