1.6 In May 2005 the Campus scheme collapsed as the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust did not recommend an Addendum to a revised OBC for approval by the Strategic Health Authority after five years and £14.9 million in direct costs. The Strategic Health Authority then recommended that the scheme be cancelled and in June 2005 the Minister at the Department confirmed that the project could be formally cancelled. The scheme did not proceed as far as the selection of a PFI partner or exchange of contracts so, given that there was no deal, it is not possible to comment on the value for money of any proposed procurement route.
1.7 This examination was prompted in part by correspondence from four Members of Parliament in 2005 expressing concern at the cancellation of the Campus scheme and what they felt was a lack of clarity on accountability for the collapse.
1.8 The study scope is limited to the immediate and underlying causes for the collapse of the scheme in May 2005, rather than the chronological story of how the scheme progressed from Strategic Outline Case in 1998 to cancellation in June 2005 (a chronology of events is at Appendix 1). The report considers:
■ the risks faced by the Campus partners and how they approached the task (Part 2);
■ the progress made by the Campus partners in implementing the 2000 OBC (Part 3);
■ roles and accountability in the scheme (Part 4); and
■ the way ahead for all parties (Part 5).
1.9 The report is based on documentary evidence from, and interviews with, all relevant stakeholders and also draws on the findings of a number of external reviews of the scheme, including the Independent Review Panel's 'Lessons Learned' Report commissioned by the North West London Strategic Health Authority in July 2005 and published by the Strategic Health Authority in October 20056 (Appendix 2). The full methodology is at Appendix 3.
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6 Final Report to the North West London Strategic Health Authority from the Independent Review Panel: Lessons Learned from the Paddington Health Campus Project http://www.nwlondon.nhs.uk/featuredInformation/download/board18Oct05/PHCLessonsFinal.doc.