Review calls for reassessment of all NHS redevelopments in West London after cost of Paddington PFI hospital rises from £360m to £800m.

The future of a £800m PFI hospital planned for Paddington has been called into question by damning review into the scheme.

The review called for a complete re-look into NHS redevelopment in West London as part of the new outline business case for the scheme.

The 10 page review, carried out by the Department of Health, the National Audit Office and the Treasury and finally publicly released this week, said: “The Strategic Health Authority should lead a process identifying options for investment in the NHS in West London for heart and lung, paediatrics, tertiary services and St Mary’s infrastructure.”

A source on the review team added: “It (the review) is not saying they should redo the Paddington scheme, but they should look whole of the medical needs in West London.”

The review found that there was not clarity of cost in the scheme, whose price rose from £360m to £800m plus by last year. It said: “The project… was probably not affordable as it did not have the required definition not the clear support of the local health community.”

It added: “There seemed to be no clarity in the project team on the financial limits within which they should operate.”

It identified a host of problems in the original preparation of the outline business case for the project, released in 2000. These included:

  • A very low construction contingency at 3%. A range of 12-14% is more normal for that stage of a project
  • Omission of facilites management space
  • No sensible allowances were made for decants nor the costs associated with moving from one hospital to another

The review criticised the Department of Health and the North West London Strategic Health (NWSH) authority’s role in the scheme.

It said: “There is no evidence that the department or the SHA recognised the complexities and considered whether the trusts needed particular support.”

The NWSH said that it welcomed the review and added that the new business case for the scheme would be submitted by the end of the year. This is later than the original October deadline.