NAO report examines performance and value

A recently published National Audit Office (NAO) report says that, although most of the 70-plus English PFI hospital contracts now operational are "achieving the value for money expected when the contracts were signed", there "continue to be risks" to the long-term value of others. Entitled The performance and management of hospital PFI contracts, the report concludes that some NHS Trusts are devoting insufficient resources to managing their contracts, and, although many will be expected to make significant efficiency savings over the next few years, the fact that they typically pay index-linked sums for services, and the "complex" nature of many existing PFI contracts, will make it difficult to achieve these without cutting back on key services.