King's Mill in Sutton is among most expensive hospital PFI deals in UK

The project cost developers £326 million but, by the time it is paid off, interest and fees will take it the money forked out by NHS Sherwood Forest Hospitals to just over £2 billion.

The figure is six times the cost if it had been paid up front and the difference is the equivalent of thousands of nurses' salaries.

And it comes as the trust sees itself with a £32.3 million deficit - while being forced to cough up £50 million per year in repayments.

Figures by the Daily Mirror show that the Kings Mill deal means NHS Sherwood Forest is paying for the tenth most costly PFI deal anywhere in the NHS.

By 2050, when the NHS makes its final payment for the 118 PFI schemes to build or redevelop hospitals in England and Wales, it will have shelled out £78.3billion.

A Sherwood Forest Hospitals spokesperson said patients continued to benefit from the deal.

He said: "At King’s Mill Hospital, we have a first class facility to be treated in, which is one of the best estates in the region.

"This has helped contribute to measures that improve patient care such as an increase in single rooms for patients which improves dignity for patients and reduces the risk of infection."

The PFI deal funded the new main building at King’s Mill Hospital and refurbishment work on existing buildings at King’s Mill Hospital, Mansfield Community Hospital and Newark Hospital.

The final cost also includes paying for key services such as cleaning, portering and hospital food over 32 years, that still would have had to be paid if the new hospital had not been built.

The spokesman added that, despite the huge PFI costs, for 2017/18 NHS Sherwood Forest delivered its full cost improvement plan and kept to the control total budget agreed with regulators.