NHS: Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Debate between Earl Howe and Lord Haskel

Thursday 10th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

The previous Government tried very hard to put an NHS solution in place. As I mentioned, by the time they left office no NHS provider was willing to step in and say that it was capable of turning Hinchingbrooke around—the problems were that serious. Given that situation, an independent sector solution was the only one on the table.

[Lord Haskel]

I do not want to sound like a penny-pinching accountant, but exactly how do you work out profit on a hospital? How do you work out a surplus? What about capital expenditure? What about depreciation? What about all these other things that are involved? Have all these things been worked out?

[Earl Howe]

They have, my Lords, but the best way of answering the detail of the noble Lord’s question is to say that I will send him as much detail as possible from the contract, which factors in all the matters to which he referred.