A MERSEYSIDE MP last night said he was “confident” Whiston Hospital would not be privatised.
But Shaun Woodward, MP for St Helens South, added the battle was not yet won, and urged campaigners to continue putting pressure on the Government.
The Daily Post revealed in April that an option had been mooted in a leaked Government document to partly run Whiston and St Helens hospitals by a private company, to cover running costs.
Mr Woodward said: “I spoke to Simon Burns (health minister) and he reassures me that privatising a hospital is not a consideration.
“I am confident that we should be able to win any attempt at privatising the hospitals, but we have not won yet.
“I would urge the public to continue expressing their very real concerns.”
The new hospitals were constructed with Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funds, and it was estimated an extra £20.3m from commissioners was needed annually to run them and keep up with the PFI payments.
During negotiations to build the hospitals, it was agreed this money would come from central funds, via the soon-to-be axed Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). But the document sets out three options to cover these costs – either they come from Government, the hospital merges with another trust, or it is handed over to a private company.
