The UK government has set its healthcare agenda for the 21st century, investing 3.1 billion in the National Health Service (NHS) with plans for 29 new hospitals around the country. The plan also includes single, fast-track treatment centers for non-urgent appointments and operations. Long-term investments are needed to improve the NHS; with one-tenth of the nation’s hospitals dating back to Victorian times, many of the buildings are shabby and the equipment is unreliable.
Nine new hospitals will begin development this year, with nine more to follow in 2002. Many of the new hospitals will be delivered through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), with the option at the end of the PFI contract for each of these hospitals to become the property of the NHS. As a major reform to the PFI process, the hospitals will work in partnership with local primary, community, intermediate, and social services rather than being developed in isolation.
Based on a report from i-FM