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New Health care Plans to Leave NHS with 'White Elephants'

by Medindia Content Team on Jul 17 2006 3:17 PM

A new report has revealed that the billions of pounds being spent on hospitals for the NHS will not be suitable for the new plans for the patterns of care.

The report has claimed that the NHS could be left with "white elephants", huge hospitals that would take 30 years to pay off, when the present plans for the future of healthcare lay with smaller, flexible units closer to where people live.

According to this report the Department of Health has brought capital investment of all kinds to a complete halt as new policies are changing the methods of delivery of care. This would lead to missing opportunities for investing in appropriate new buildings.

The lead author of the report is Professor Nick Bosanquet, of Imperial College. The report has been published by Reform, which was the first in the market to predict the NHS funding crisis and the need to cut jobs.

The report, 'Investment in the NHS', in the Reform has warned that the NHS has spent the past decade building over-large and expensive units and now faces a freeze on the kind of investment that can lead to service improvement.

The NHS accounts has showed evidence of an underspend of £1.2 billion last year on the capital account which is double the level of 2004-05. The current financial year is expected to show an even larger underspend.


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