Campaigners were protesting outside Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary today attacking plans to use private finance to build a new hospital.

The Socialist Alliance was leading the demonstration, part of a campaign against Government proposals to develop hospitals with private funding.

The relocation of the Radcliffe Infirmary to new buildings at the John Radcliffe and the Churchill, both in Headington, would be one of the projects in the scheme, known as the Private Finance Initiative.

Private companies would own hospital buildings and provide cleaning and maintenance services, while the NHS would pay rent to use them.

John Lister, the Social Alliance prospective parliamentary candidate for Oxford East, said the scheme would leave the NHS in debt for 30 years.

He said: "Most people can see it is rotten value for money and that it will leave the NHS deep in debt for 30 years, with rental and capital charges of £4.5bn a year by 2007.

"We are determined they won't get away with it. We are opposed to any use of PFI. New hospitals should be publicly funded by the Treasury."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said: "This is a huge and vital investment in Oxford's hard-pressed NHS services and this demonstration won't help anyone.

"PFI is helping deliver the biggest hospital building programme the NHS has ever seen and I would hate Oxford to miss out."