St George's Hospital Atkinson Morley Wing - Great, But At What A Price !

The Atkinson Morley Wing of St George’s Hospital opened in 2003 is a positive bonus.
It takes its name from the Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon which St George’s sold off a few years ago to stave off a financial crisis-what’s new !
Anyone who has visited the new wing can’t be but impressed by its state of the art interior and superb facilities. Its cardiac services have led to St George’s becoming a heart and trauma centre for the surrounding area. These are all welcome developments-but at what a price !
St George’s Annual Accounts 2007/08 reveal just what the costs are of having the wing built under a Private Finance Iniative Scheme.
St George’s signed a contract with Blackshaw Healthcare services in 2000. The lease is to last for 35 years and the first payment made was in 2003. So it is not until 2038/39 that St George’s will be clear of its repayments to Blackshaw Healthcare Services.
The fist payment of over £8million was made in 2003. Payments are linked to the Retail Price Index, which has been rising by over 2% a year. So payments are not fixed and increase according to the RPI
To date St George’s have paid the PFI Consortium over £50 million. That’s right-we have already paid what it cost to build the Atkinson Morley wing -but we have to go on paying at, today's prices, almost £9 million a year until 2038/39.
Nobody knows what the Retail Price Index will be in 2039 but at todays prices we will have
paid well in excess of £300 million for a £50 million building.
No wonder PFI is considered one of the greatest rip offs of all time.
No wonder not one member of the Trust Board spoke in its favour at a recent Trust Board
meeting.