Second NHS hospital may be franchised before election

Second NHS hospital may be franchised before election Circle, Serco and Care UK reportedly interested in taking over running of George Eliot hospital in Warwickshire

A second NHS hospital could be taken over by a private company before the general election, it has emerged.

Board papers published by the NHS Trust Development Authority reveal (pdf) that George Eliot hospital in Warwickshire, which serves 290,000 people, could be "franchised", with a private sector firm taking over its management.

Last February Hinchingbrooke became the first NHS hospital to be privatised when it was handed over to Circle Health for 10 years.

Health Service Journal reported that private firms such as Circle, Serco and Care UK were circling George Eliot, and other NHS trusts had expressed an interest in taking it over. The sell-off has been backed by the Treasury.

• NHS has been 'put up for sale': Labour accuses Government over possible sell-off district general hospital  Independent

According to its accounts, the 344-bed hospital had an income of £108m in 2011, which included an additional subsidy of £4m that is unlikely to be sustained in the future. The hospital has had the highest death rate in England and was one of the 11 trusts placed into special measures following the national review of mortality carried out by the health service's medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh.

Labour's health spokesman, Andy Burnham, said: "Everywhere you look, chunks of the NHS are being broken up and handed to the private sector. With this announcement, it is now proceeding at a pace and scale never seen before.

"Ministers have spent all year running down the NHS and their real intent is becoming increasing clear – preparing the ground for more privatisation.

"Far from doctors deciding, this is privatisation driven from the top down. David Cameron needs to be reminded he's never been given the permission of the British public to put the NHS up for sale.

"It is essential the local community in Nuneaton have the final say."

The board papers, drawn up by the NTDA director of delivery and development in the Midlands and East region, Dale Bywater, make it clear that the hospital could be in private hands by 1 April 2015, a month before the general election.

Bywater recommends the start of the process to find a "strategic partner" at a meeting on Thursday. The NHS authority says "the specific business management model of a potential partner was more important than its organisational form in securing sustainability … Therefore there is no preferred organisational model and an open procurement should take place in order to test a wide range of innovative proposals from both NHS and independent sector providers."  Guardian