The government has awarded £6m in contracts to management consultants Deloitte and lawyers Addleshaw Goddard to advise on using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to build new NHS 'neighbourhood health centres' in England. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is exploring whether private capital can help deliver dozens of clinics, initially in deprived areas.
Campaigners have warned that the move risks repeating the costly mistakes of the private finance initiative (PFI), which left the NHS in England with over £40bn in repayments still due. We Own It lead campaigner Johnbosco Nwogbo called PFI 'a disaster for our public services' and said Labour would break its manifesto pledge by tying up with private capital.
The DHSC said it is 'exploring the feasibility of using new public private partnership models for taxpayer-funded projects in very limited circumstances, where they could represent value for money.' The contracts cover developing the business case, designing PPP structures, and financial modelling, with potential support for procurement.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, backed using private investment but not the old PFI model. He said 'private investment is one of the only ways to inject vital capital funding into the NHS' given constrained public finances.
Health secretary Wes Streeting announced the first 43 centres this month, which will host GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and social care staff. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to decide in the 26 November budget whether private money will be used.
