Fears of new PFI-style ‘disaster’ as firms handed £6m to advise on using private funds for NHS clinics

The UK government has awarded £6 million in contracts to consulting firms to advise on using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to build new NHS clinics in England. Deloitte and Addleshaw Goddard have each received £3 million to provide guidance on this initiative, which aims to create a network of "neighbourhood health centres" using private capital. This move has raised concerns that it could lead to a disaster similar to the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes, which have been criticized for their high costs and poor value for money. The use of PPPs to fund and manage public infrastructure projects has been a controversial topic, with critics arguing that it can result in long-term financial burdens for the government and taxpayers. The article suggests that the government's decision to pursue this approach for the new NHS clinics may be premature and could potentially lead to another PFI-style problem, where the public ends up shouldering the burden of private sector involvement in the provision of public services.