The NHS in England faces a total bill of £65bn for new hospitals built under the private finance initiative (PFI), six times more than the buildings cost. Figures obtained by the BBC show that some NHS trusts are spending more than 10 percent of their turnover on the annual ''mortgage'' repayments.
Under PFI, private companies win contracts to build and maintain new hospitals and mental health units and the NHS pays off the ''mortgage'' over around 30 years.
The 103 schemes were valued at a total of £11.3bn when they were built.
But when rising fees and additional costs such as maintenance, cleaning and catering are taken into account, the NHS will have to pay back £65.1bn over the lifetime of the schemes. Some contracts are reportedly so restrictive that trusts are forced to pay hundreds of pounds just to get half a dozen pictures put up.
According to the data, the NHS currently pays back a total of £1.25bn each year but this figure is expected to increase until 2030 when it will hit £2.3bn, the BBC reported.
The final payment will not be made until 2048.
What is even more obscene is that we are paying twice for this, because we have loaned companies in the PFI contracts the money needed to undertake these capital projects at extremely preferential rates. They then not only charge us for what is effectively a self financed 'mortgage', but they also charge us interest on our own money!
You could make it up, but then you wouldn't believe it.
