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Union rejects hospital contract | Union rejects hospital contract |
(10 minutes later) | |
A £267m contract to build a new hospital in Fermanagh has been awarded to a private consortium. | A £267m contract to build a new hospital in Fermanagh has been awarded to a private consortium. |
The hospital will be built under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme. | |
However, trade union Unison has claimed this will take too much money from the Department of Health's annual budget for the next 25 years. | |
The Department of Health defended its decision, saying PFI is only chosen when it provides best value for money. | The Department of Health defended its decision, saying PFI is only chosen when it provides best value for money. |
Patricia McKeown from the union said she had "serious concerns about the project". | |
"This is not a viable contract for the Private Finance Initiative, it's being built as a PFI but it doesn't meet the Treasury requirements. | |
"Therefore our health service is going to have to pump £23m a year into it for the next 25 years. | "Therefore our health service is going to have to pump £23m a year into it for the next 25 years. |
"It's going to have a knock-on effect to how health services are delivered, particularly in the western trust area because that money will eventually come out of the direct delivery of healthcare." | "It's going to have a knock-on effect to how health services are delivered, particularly in the western trust area because that money will eventually come out of the direct delivery of healthcare." |
The Department of Health said in a statement there was "no substance" to the figure of £23m quoted by Unison. | |
It also said no payments would be made to the contractor until the hospital was completed and handed over to the trust. | |
"This project is expected to create in excess of 200 new construction jobs in the local area," added a spokesman. |
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