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Concerns over likely short and long term effects of the PFI on the NHS

The Private Finance Initiative — a government scheme to borrow money from private investors for major capital projects such as roads, shopping centres and hospitals — is inappropriate for welfare state buildings and facilities, says the Centre for Public Services.

In its evidence to the new government’s review of the policy, the centre argues that buildings and facilities for welfare state services, such as schools, hospitals and residential homes, are an inherent part of the service delivery and should remain outside of the PFI.

The centre is also concerned that PFI projects include a component for ‘support services’ for the building. In the case of a hospital this could include maintenance, cleaning, catering and security staff. Some proposals also include adminstrative staff, telephone operators, pathology and radiology staff, laboratories and medical records personnel.

Usually, a line has been drawn between ‘clinical’ and ‘non-clinical’ staff, and the Labour government has pledged only to apply the PFI to ‘non-clinical’ services.

But Dexter Whitfield, director of the Centre for Public Services, argues: ‘The debate about which services are included or excluded or where the boundary lies between clinical and non-clinical services is false.’

‘It allows firms to “cherry pick” services and encourages PFI contractors to include firms in their consortia who are intent on privatising particular services.’

‘For example, Bayer and SmithKline Beecham are seeking to operate pathology labs which will help to guarantee markets for their products.’

The centre also points out that over two-thirds of the jobs likely to be affected by PFI projects are held by women. Research evidence on the impact of competitive tendering on women’s employment suggests that these employees are likely to suffer deterioration in their working hours, pay and conditions of service.