HEALTH Minister Edwin Poots has refused to reveal how much money has been spent on maintaining South West Acute Hospital over the last year.

In his response to UUP MLA Ross Hussey, Minister Poots explained that maintenance costs for the hospital in Enniskillen were made up of a number of components including costs relating to the building construction, contractor supplied equipment, capital replacement and life-cycle and interest charges, in addition to estates, energy and grounds maintenance services.

He explained that the annual unitary charge was the subject of detailed scrutiny during the three-year procurement as part of the competitive tendering process but declined to provide details, saying: “The detailed breakdown of Unitary Charge payments is considered as commercially sensitive information and the Trust is therefore not permitted to disclose this information in accordance with the PFI contract and the Freedom of Information Act.”