YORK healthcare is on the brink of revolution. In March we revealed that York Hospitals NHS Trust was planning to build a new hospital within 16 years.

And today it was announced that another new health facility is coming to the city - which should operating by this time next year.

The treatment centre to be built on the Clifton Hospital laundry site will give York surgeons the space to carry out hundreds more operations annually. It should bring down waiting lists, bring in 70 jobs, and bring about the demise of a city eyesore.

Nonetheless, the centre will not be universally applauded. While most people will welcome the regional partnership which brings together health trusts for York, Selby, Scarborough, Ryedale and the Wolds, the involvement of a private Swedish company will cause more concern.

Unison's Edna Mulhearn articulates these doubts; while she does not condemn the initiative she feels "all treatment for patients should be within the national health, and that in an ideal world there should be the capacity and funding within the NHS itself without having to go to any private sector".

The key words here are "in an ideal world". Patients who have suffered months or years of pain as their surgery is postponed time and again will not care about the politics. They will simply be delighted to see their treatment brought forward.

Admittedly, private finance has a dubious track record in the NHS. Hospitals have been built with too few beds and trusts burdened with huge debts.

We must hope that Yorkshire health bosses have learned lessons from these failings and have struck a deal which is good for patients and taxpayers.

Updated: 10:24 Friday, May 14, 2004