David Cameron has promised to support attempts to pull a struggling Nottinghamshire hospitals trust out of its financial and managerial crisis.
The Prime Minister said he would look into what more could be done to improve Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs King’s Mill and Newark hospitals.
The trust has been in special measures since 2013 following criticism from watchdog the Care Quality Commission.
In October the commission rated King’s Mill, near Mansfield, as ‘inadequate’ after an inspection.
Mr Cameron was speaking in the House of Commons during Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday.
He was asked by Conservative Sherwood MP Mark Spencer if he would personally intervene to help the trust deal with ongoing financial problems.
Mr Spencer raised the issue of a multi-million pound debt linked to a private finance initiative, or PFI, deal signed to build the new King’s Mill Hospital building, and costing £3m a month in repayments.
In response, Mr Cameron said: “They are extremely difficult to solve, these PFI contracts because they were entered into and signed.
“My understanding is that [watchdogs] Monitor and the Care Quality Commission are absolutely clear that Sherwood needs a long-term partnership and I understand the trust plans to announce its preferred partner in mid-February and that hopefully will help it to support the services that we need.
“But I will look carefully, and make sure the health secretary looks carefully, at the suggestion.”
Last month the trust announced it could merge with either University Hospitals of Nottingham or the Derby hospitals trust in an effort to improve standards.
A decision on which trust is the likely partner will be announced this month.
Gloria De Piero, Ashfield’s Labour MP, accused Mr Spencer of “playing politics” with the issue by raising its Labour Government-led PFI deal.
She said: “Monitor, the independent health watchdog, has said that the problems at King’s Mill are nothing to do with the PFI.”
