One of Northern Ireland's biggest private hospitals has an annual rates bill of £839 despite the facility being worth almost £35m, it can be revealed today.

The Ulster Independent Clinic (UIC), located in one of the most affluent areas of Belfast, is eligible for rates relief and charitable tax status because it is a registered charity.

According to the latest documents filed with Companies House, the freehold land and buildings owned by UIC were valued at £34.9m at the end of April last year.

However, Land & Property Services (LPS) has said the private hospital at Stranmillis only has to pay rates for the caretaker's house.

With a rateable capital value of £110,000, this means the rates' bill for this financial year was £839. The clinic, which is the only private hospital with charitable status, said it is a non-profit making charitable company and any surplus is reinvested back into the facility to ensure the highest standards for patients.

If UIC did not have charitable status, its rates bill for 2018/19 would be in the region of £66,308.

This equates to a total rates bill of £258,665 for the period between April 1, 2015 and the end of next March.

At the same time, cash-strapped health bosses at the Belfast Trust paid out almost £5m on rates for its hospitals last year.

The rates bill for the Royal Group of Hospitals was £2.2m, while the bill for Belfast City Hospital was £1.5m. A further £1.1m was needed to cover the rates for the Mater Hospital and Musgrave Park Hospital.

The trust will be faced with a similar bill this year while also struggling to find enough money to provide vital NHS services, as well as funding the likes of the ongoing neurology recall.

It also comes as an increasing number of patients are being forced to turn to private hospitals for treatment amid spiralling waiting times in the NHS.

Meanwhile, HM Revenue & Customs said that it could not say whether the clinic had charitable tax relief.

However, UIC paperwork filed with Companies House says "the company is recognised as a charity by HM Revenue & Customs and all income falls within the tax exemption".

As such, UIC does not pay tax on the majority of income and gains used for charitable purposes, known as charitable expenditure.

In documents submitted to the Charity Commission, the clinic said "fees totalling £26.9m were paid by private individuals, healthcare charities and insurance companies" during the financial year 2016/17.

Any surplus of income must be reinvested into the services it provides to patients and £8.1m was earmarked for future development of the clinic.

It is understood this money was used to fund its new outpatient department, which was officially opened during the summer.

The expansion included the construction of a new three-storey extension to the existing main hospital site, the upgrade of the adjacent X-ray department facilities and the addition of a new endoscopy theatre.

While the UIC must publish its accounts, the consultants who work there are not bound by the same regulations, as they are not charities.

Instead, they are operating as private businesses, so no details are available on their income and any profit is not subject to the same regulations, including the requirement to invest profit back into the charity.

According to the Charity Commission, UIC acquired charitable status because the work done there provides a benefit to the public.

This includes the diagnosis of illness and physical injury and the relief of pain and suffering for patients as a result of receiving medical treatment.

Indirect benefits include the provision of training for student nurses, radiographers and physiotherapists.

Paula Bradshaw, Alliance Party health spokeswoman, has called for a review of the current situation where NHS hospitals face hefty rates bills while a private hospital providing the same service is exempt.

"We need to be clear that the issue lies with existing policies and regulations, not with the clinic itself," she said.

"It will seem a significant discrepancy that an independent company can be deemed charitable, yet a public sector organisation providing the same services cannot.

"At the very least, we need to be open and honest about what we expect the role of charities to be and how they are accountable for that role."

While UIC is the only private clinic here with charitable status, it is not uncommon for independent hospitals to register as a charity.

In August last year it emerged that hospitals in England and Wales were enjoying a £52m tax break on their business rates bills through their charitable status.

A spokesman for the clinic said it is a non-profit distributing charitable company, limited by guarantee and its sole purpose is the diagnosis of illness and physical injury and the relief of pain and suffering through medical treatment.

He continued: "UIC's charitable status means that it is required to act in the public benefit and that any surplus from its activities is reinvested into the services it provides to patients.

"The hospital is also governed by a voluntary board of directors who ensure that the clinic continues to provide patient choice and a valuable service to the healthcare sector in Northern Ireland."

The Charity Commission said: "A charity cannot provide a private benefit unless it is an incidental benefit.

"Sometimes there may also be incidental benefits that may result from a charity carrying out its purposes.

"For example, medical staff who will be employed by a charity set up to provide health centres in deprived areas may enhance their employment prospects because of the experience they gain."

It said charities are allowed to charge for services because these may be expensive to run and fees are required to cover the cost in order to operate.

Belfast Telegraph