Report says taxpayer will 'foot the bill' after private firm pulled out of running Hinchingbrooke Hospital

The failure of a project which saw the first private healthcare operator to run an NHS hospital trust has meant the "taxpayer has been left exposed", a report has warned.

Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in Huntingdon was taken over by Circle Holdings in 2012 but the company announced it was pulling out of the deal in January, hours before the release of a highly critical report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors uncovered a number of serious concerns about staffing, risks to patient safety - particularly in the casualty department - and medical care as well as further issues relating to the way in which the trust was led and run.

It also became the first trust in England to be rated inadequate for caring.

But giving evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last month, Circle Holdings chief executive, Steve Melton, said the CQC report was not the reason why the company had decided to withdraw early from the contract, which he blamed on financial unsustainability caused by rising demand and cuts in funding.

In a report released today by the Public Accounts Committee, its Chairwoman, Labour MP Margaret Hodge, said that while some financial risk and demand risk had transferred to Circle, it was always clear that the NHS would have ultimate responsibility for maintaining the service for patients.

She said MPs were concerned that none of those involved in the decisions have been properly held to account.