Procurement topics keenly discussed

From the announcement of the first of the new wave of PFI Hospitals in the late nineties, up to the recent demise of the ill-fated Paddington “super-hospital” scheme, the Government’s policy of using private contractors to finance, construct, and run healthcare facilities continues to divide opinion. That we are seeing more new hospitals and treatment centres appear in more areas of the UK than ever before is beyond dispute, but are these new buildings actually benefiting patients in ways not seen before? And is the Government’s heavy reliance on PFI providing value for public money, or, as some have argued, wasting millions on bureaucracy, inflated private profits and sub-standard construction?