Jamie Green
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) that oversees the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle issued a statement at the end of January this year stating NCIC had served notice of a “no-fault voluntary” termination of the PFI contract to Health Management (Carlisle) Limited on 31st of December 2025, effective from 31st March 2026. This was after the board “successfully demonstrating to stakeholders” that the termination would provide “value for money”. SHA Branch Cumbria has campaigned on the cost of Cumberland Infirmary PFI for the last three years – producing material detailing the “poor value for money” of this deal. Exorbitant amounts of money have been drained from the national health service into unnecessary, private-profiteering contracts, hollowing out the NHS through stealth methods of privatisation.
Cumberland Infirmary was the first PFI hospital built at a cost of £67M. It made national headlines early on with news of reduced bed numbers, leading to bed shortages (a known problem caused by PFI), crowded wards, as well as poor hygiene standards. There were further reports of the “not fit for purpose” safety of the building (Pollock, Gaffney, Macfarlane and Majeed, 1997; Browne, 2001; McGowan, 2017). Labour leadership, at the time was particularly fixated on the use of PFI to fund projects, casting aside the possibility of funding through the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). As reports showed in 1999, this would have provided a potential exceptionally low-interest, long-term loan for a hospital build or refurbished. Use of the PWLB would have allowed the public sector to retain hospital ownership, and avoided high private-sector profiteering payments. Current Labour Party leadership plans to use PFI 2.0 to fund NHS Neighbourhood Health Centres which SHA strongly opposes.
The hospital made headline news again in 2011 when it was revealed by the BBC at the end of the 30-year contract, the trust would have made total payments “upwards of £587M” on a hospital the NHS would not come to own. The infirmary was issued an enforcement notice in 2015 when the hospital was found to have outstanding AND severe fire safety failings (inappropriate/ineffective fire proofing materials and faulty sprinkler system). These faults cost the trust – and taxpayers – an additional £14M to rectify to bring the hospital back into code (Coleman, 2017).
In 2021, the hospital made news over unpaid enhanced pay when over 150 Mitie support staff workers, represented by Unison and GMB, undertook industrial action (Coleman, 2021). Workers did not receive enhanced rates for weekends or nights for over ten years, estimated by one union to be worth upwards of £260,000 annually. Three then Labour councillors, Alan McGuckin, Karen Lockney and Pete Sunter called for transparency into the whereabouts of a “substantial sum” of money that had exchanged hands – given to HMC, but not passed on to the workers. “We have submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out exactly how much public money we are talking about…However, what is clear is that money has changed hands and was not paid to workers. We call on the NHS Trust and the Audit Office to open an inquiry.” (Coleman, 2021).
There have been instances of other hospitals getting out of PFI deals – such as Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The Hexham-based hospital that was the subject of a buy-out of PFI deal, was the first of its kind. The trust was able to secure a loan from the local council, Northumberland County Council, for £114M to pay off private contractors who had built and were contracted to run the site for the next 32 years. The deal would, as was estimated at the time, save the trust “about £3.5M a year”. The recent statement from NCIC regarding Cumberland Infirmary and PFI did not include specifics of how exactly the “no-fault termination” was to be implemented – whether there was a loan acquired for a buy-out, nor any amount of sums mentioned.
Questions also remain up in the air regarding Mitie workers – on insourcing or otherwise. The trust has stated that it is “...working with Health Management (Carlisle) Limited and its primary sub-contractor Mitie to deliver an orderly and safe transition of services that maintains quality and safety of soft and hard facilities management services provided at Cumberland Infirmary Carlisle…Commercial conversations are ongoing, but the Trust, together with Health Management (Carlisle) Limited and Mitie, are working together to facilitate the safe and orderly transition of all staff and services.” The Trust concluded that it would “provide further updates during the period to the 31st March 2026.”
SHA Cumbria members outside Cumberland Infirmary (2023).
This article is part of the ongoing PFI campaign from SHA Cumbria on Cumberland Infirmary. The branch began building a campaign on PFI by organising dedicated branch meetings, inviting local campaigners to speak at meetings, and utilised resources for research – peer reviewed articles (searchable through google scholar), newspaper articles, parliamentary documents – speeches, written questions and select health committees. Work was allocated and follow up meetings reserved to finalise, print material and select campaign dates. There is an SHA PFI template you may like to share with your SHA branch and lead a campaign on your local PFI, here. If you would like further support, contact admin@sochealth.co.uk