Britain's only privately run NHS hospital appeals for £10m taxpayer-funded bailout

[Mr Angry]

Spectacular.

"The only NHS hospital run by a private company has asked for a £10m taxpayer-funded bailout.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, is due to be handed back into NHS hands in March after the company outsourced to manage it, Circle, said it could no longer cope with rising demand and funding cuts.

However, the hospital trust’s latest financial statement reveals Circle is expecting to leave behind a deficit of between £7.7m and £12m.
Under its contract, the company is only liable to pay £5m to cover deficits incurred at the trust, and has already paid £4.8m.

The hospital has now applied to the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA), a Government health authority responsible for leadership of 99 NHS bodies, for £9.6m in “public dividend capital” funding, and also expects to borrow extra cash from the TDA."


We're all in this together.

[heero_yuy]

Not surprising when there's a strong suspicion that they were stitched up:

The revelation raises questions about the CQC's highly critical report into Hinchingbrooke, which was published days after Circle, the private firm running the hospital, withdrew from its contract.

A Tory MEP said it was 'shocking' that the inspection relied on someone found guilty of misconduct and the CQC had been 'seriously undermined'.

A Daily Mail investigation has provoked suspicions that the CQC report was directed by senior Labour and union figures opposed to NHS privatisation.

One inspector is linked to pressure group Keep Our NHS Public, another is a former member of the doctors' trade union, and a paediatrician standing for Labour at the General Election is believed to have heavily influenced the findings.

Linky

Sorry about the unapproved source.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Not surprising when there's a strong suspicion that they were stitched up:

Linky

Sorry about the unapproved source.

Surely the Mail could have saved them from this alleged conspiracy given that they themselves earlier reported on it being a tremendous success.

Something quite clearly either went wrong or wasn't factually correct. I very much doubt, though am happy to be proved wrong, that it was a highly critical report that led Circle to opt out of the contract. That aside the company themselves cite " rising demand and funding cuts." as the primary reasons.

[beeman]

A Daily Mail investigation has provoked suspicions that the CQC report was directed by senior Labour and union figures opposed to NHS privatisation.

It dosnt really make much sence, because the privatision of hinnchingbrooke hospital was a Labour pet project. They setup the tender and bid process, selected the winner the only thing that actually happened under the coalition was handing over the keys.

[Osem]

Another Labour failure to add to the extensive list then. Still it's great to keep blaming the Tories for privatising everything, some folks even believe it...

[heero_yuy]

Alternatively, and get your tin foil hats out, New Labour privatised it and then the 1970's wing of the party in cahoots with the unions deliberately set about its destruction to "prove" privatising the NHS didn't work and thus prevent further "privatising of the NHS"

I wouldn't put anything beyond belief with politicians.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Alternatively, and get your tin foil hats out, New Labour privatised it and then the 1970's wing of the party in cahoots with the unions deliberately set about its destruction to "prove" privatising the NHS didn't work and thus prevent further "privatising of the NHS"

I wouldn't put anything beyond belief with politicians.

Again, the company itself is quoted as having said the reasons for their opting out were increased demand and funding cuts.

No doubt lickspittle Tory and Lib Dem supporters who are in denial of the effects their imposed cuts and reductions to community care have had nationwide will seek to divert attention away from the fact that he hospital, and not others, has attributed the blame to the consequences of same.