20 December 2002
University College London NHS Hospitals Trust (UCLH) has increased its capacity to treat cardiac patients since buying the Heart Hospital in September 2001.
The NAO complimented the smoothness of the transition of the previously private hospital to public sector status. The new hospital should enable the trust to double the number of revascularisations (an operation that improves blood supply to the heart) it carries out by 2003/04. Waiting times for the operation have already fallen to six months.
The trust decided that it did not have time to follow the standard NHS capital investment process and developed its own fast-track procedure, which took just five months. According to the NAO, the trust was successful in securing a robust deal at a favourable price.
It cost UCLH £27.5m for the property and equipment. This was £8.5m less than the independent valuation of the hospital and an estimated £17m cheaper than building a new hospital. The previous owners had invested £45m in acquiring the hospital, refurbishing it and purchasing new medical equipment.
Edward Leigh, the chair of the Commons' Public Accounts Committee, said the speed of the deal was an example to the rest of the public sector.
'The University College London NHS Hospitals Trust saw a chance and went for it, slashing through the pernicious red tape which can envelop much of government. This really stands out against the quagmire of bureaucracy which all too often hampers government bodies.'
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