Carillion—A Comment
Carillion exploited the public sector to unbelievable lengths. Where they controlled maintenance in hospitals they really went to town.
£62.50 for changing a light bulb! No one else except a qualified electrician was allowed to change a bulb. A maintence depot might be 60 miles from a hospital. Putting up some coat hooks could cost hundreds.
If under the PPP scheme they built hospitals and leased them out to the NHS. like one, the University College Hospital in London, the latter had to pay £30 million a year plus hugely inflated maintenance bills.
Partly rebuilding a hospital meant that Carillion maintained the rebuild while the old section was controlled by the hospital’s own in-house maintenance. They were not allowed to do any maintenance in the new rebuild even if there was an emergency like vital equipment falling off an operating theatre wall.
Major Irish building companies were also on the board of Carillion.
The Tories are getting the blame for this, but it was a Blairite scheme.
W.J. Haire.
Labour Affairs Magazine 