The UK Treasury has awarded a £1bn, ten-year contract to private healthcare provider Circle to take over the management of the ‘failing’ Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

The contract will allow Circle to assume the financial risks of making the hospital efficient and paying off its debts.

Bill Gilliam of law firm Eversheds told BBC news that the UK Treasury took several months give the go ahead to Circle, which determines the complexities and sensitivities of the arrangements, clinically, financially, legally and politically.

”Circle has made – and will have to continue to make – a substantial investment of resources, funds and time if it is to ensure that the venture is a success," Gilliam added.