A north-east MSP is trying to establish whether NHS Grampian will end up footing the bill for a new maternity hospital and cancer centre.
Earlier this summer the Scottish Government announced the £120million project would go ahead using the non-profit-distributing (NPD) model – an alternative to the private finance initiative (PFI) designed to cap returns to private-sector investors.
Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald is concerned the funds will come out of the health board’s already hard-pressed budget.
Next week he plans to pin down Finance Secretary John Swinney to establish exactly which body, NHS Grampian or the Scottish Government, will meet the revenue costs.
“NPD funding will provide the initial capital to enable NHS Grampian to build a new cancer care centre and maternity hospital, but this money, and interest, will have to be paid back over the next 25 or 30 years,” he said.
“I want to know if the Scottish Government will pay back the private investors who invest in this NPD project, or whether money will have to be taken from NHS Grampian’s budget to cover the costs.
“That is why I will be asking John Swinney to explain in Parliament just who will be meeting these costs, which are likely to be extensive given the scale of the projects.
“Announcing plans is not enough; people in the north-east are entitled to know how they are to be paid for.”
Mr Macdonald said a letter he received from NHS Grampian chief executive Richard Carey indicated the board was uncertain.
Mr Carey said the project was still in the early stages but “we understand the revenue funding associated with the capital investment will be met by the Scottish Government”.