Growth in the public health sector will only happen with a new pfi model
For health construction, September鈥檚 figures are disappointing. The CPA/Barbour ABI Public Health Index (predominantly tracking work procured by NHS Trusts both directly and via Procure 21+) dropped to 77 from a level of 79 in August, and PFI health work has all but dried up.
Worth 拢650m-拢750m a year, the Procure 21+ framework has picked up pretty much where its predecessor left off and will continue to provide a stream of construction and refurbishment work in the foreseeable future.
New hospital provision is more uncertain. PFI has attracted criticism and in July was branded as 鈥減oor value for money鈥� by a Treasury Select Committee. Furthermore, pending reform to the health and social sector and redistribution of power is likely to result in uncertainty. Add a reduction in government funding for construction work and the need to make efficiency savings and the outlook is bleak. A double-digit fall in workload by 2015 is possible.
With the public sector unable to shoulder the financial burden of providing hospitals, the speed at which a new and more flexible PFI model is established will be fundamental. The new model will need to strike a better balance between value for money for taxpayers and an acceptable level of profit for delivery consortiums.
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