Aim-listed Circle Health took over the running of Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire in February. The groundbreaking 10-year deal was widely seen as paving the way for other cash-strapped NHS hospitals to be taken over by private companies. But an ambitious target to turn a projected annual deficit of £10m into break-even in the first financial year has suffered a setback and the company’s losses doubled to £4.1m in the first six months of running the hospital. Hinchingbrooke has been forced to request a £4m cash advance from the local healthcare trust. Circle receives £80m a year in 12 monthly instalments for the management contract, but it said part of this has been brought forward to ease “cash flow problems”.
FT.com 26/10/12
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