HOSPITAL managers in Oxfordshire have denied they specifically contacted the Health Secretary with concerns about ballooning loan repayments.

The Government announced that 22 NHS trusts, including Oxford, had said their “clinical and financial stability” was at risk because of the spiralling cost of private finance initiatives (PFI), which fund big hospital projects.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals (ORH) Trust currently faces an annual bill of £46.6m to pay back loans taken out to fund developments such as the Children’s Hospital and Oxford Cancer Centre.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the ORH was among those that had contacted him with concerns about paying back the projects.

But last night the hospital said the issue was raised during a routine update. ORH finance director Mark Mansfield said: “In the course of the normal planning cycle, trusts are asked about issues affecting future financial strategies. In response to questions earlier this year in preparation for a future application for Foundation Trust status many trusts (including the ORH) noted a number of issues, including PFI commitments.”

The Department of Health said: “The list of 22 trusts is 100 per cent accurate and is based on returns from NHS trusts to the Department of Health setting out the main issues that needed to be addressed for organisations to achieve financial stability.

“The 22 listed are those that specified that their PFI was one of the issues affecting them.”