Lawyers have been told to find a way to scrap the Private Finance Initiative contract that critics say is “crippling” Carlisle’s debt-ridden Cumberland Infirmary.

The issue came under the spotlight after the News & Star revealed how the PFI partner responsible for the hospital building has failed to ensure that it meets minimum fire safety standards.

Experts say it will cost millions to put right the substandard work, which includes incomplete fire-walls, ill-fitting doors, and a defective alarm system.

It has now been confirmed that North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages medical services at the hospital, has instructed lawyers to find a way to scrap the controversial year PFI contract, which costs almost £21 million a year.

Officials predict the contract will rack up costs of around £600m over its 30-year life span.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said: “Clearly, the PFI deal which was entered into under the last Labour government appears to have not been fit for purpose, and it is now having serious implications for our hospitals trust. Every effort should be made to either renegotiate it, or get out of it in the best interests of the hospital and the people of Carlisle.”

Stewart Young, leader of Cumbria County Council, said he never supported private finance deals as a model for funding large projects such as NHS hospitals.

“I was totally against it,” he said. “It’s clearly more expensive. Local authorities and governments can always borrow more cheaply than even the biggest finance companies in the world. The argument was that PFI would transfer the risk to the private sector but this issue [with substandard fire safety at the hospital] demonstrates this has never happened.

“They’ve had the money but they have not accepted the risk. But when it was all agreed, the choice was either PFI or nothing.”

Mr Young said the proposal that the Government should “buy out” the North Cumbria PFI deal was a central element of the Cumbria Deal devolution plan backed by the county’s local authorities.

He added that a failure to resolve the outstanding fire safety issues, which are the responsibility of HMC, could stand in the way of the trust being acquired by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Earlier this year, Jim Mackey, the Northumbria trust’s departing chief executive, aimed scathing criticism at the Cumbrian PFI deal.

He said: “We have said for some time that the Cumberland Infirmary PFI building has not been fit for purpose.

“Northumbria identified the major failings with regard to fire safety compliance and with North Cumbria, have tried to engage with the PFI partner in order to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. The PFI partner has not given any confidence that all the appropriate actions are being taken and the trust has had to take action.

“The PFI contract has crippled the trust financially yet the building in which patients are being cared for is sub-standard. We must take action to terminate the PFI contract as we have done elsewhere in the country. This would allow us to take control of the hospital’s estates management rather than being caught up in legal negotiations which are preventing us making progress.”

A spokeswoman for Northumbria Healthcare, which has negotiated the early termination of a PFI for the hospital in Hexham, said all costs associated with the infirmary’s remedial fire safety work would be the responsibility of HMC.

She added: “The trust has also instructed lawyers to support a plan of recourse from the PFI company as soon as possible.”

HMC said last week that it regarded the safety of patients, staff and visitors to the hospital as “critical” and that it would work with colleagues to ensure this remains the case.

The spokesman added that HMC had engaged expert advisers to review all aspects of fire-related matters and to develop appropriate plans for the ongoing operation of the hospital. At the end of August, the North Cumbrian Trust had an accumulated deficit of £23.5m, forecast to rise to £42.5m.