With Cash Surpluses at East Kent Hospitals Trust, Why Are they Selling Our Royal Victoria? (Shepway Liberal Democrats)

With Cash Surpluses at East Kent Hospitals Trust, Why Are they Selling Our Royal Victoria?

April 2, 2008 1:43 PM

Lynne Beaumont at the Royal Victoria Hospital

Under a year since East Kent Hospitals Trust confirmed they were going to save money by selling the main building at Folkestone's Royal Victoria Hospital, the Trust have announced a £7.5m surplus in its budget.

Shepway Lib Dem Leader, Lynne Beaumont, has said the money should have been used to employ more nursing staff and retaining the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The trust, which runs the Kent and Canterbury, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, William Harvey, Buckland and Royal Victoria hospitals, has saved over £20m this financial year. The trust was allowed to retain £7.5m of its surplus, of which £1.5m was being used to reward staff, from cleaners to consultants, and £6m was being reinvested in services.

The trust had budgeted for a £5m deficit in this financial year (http://www.ekht.nhs.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=16791).

The Lib Dems on Shepway Council led a campaign to stop the sale of Victorian buildings at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.

The trust confirmed last June the sale would go ahead, but saying they needed to achieve cost savings but that "services would not suffer" from being transferred to a new unit.

"The whole reason for closure of wards at the Royal Victoria was because there was no money and now we are told they are £7.5m under-spent," said Ms Beaumont.

"It is not a bad idea to reward staff, but they deserve far more than £250.

"The whole point is the budget is being mismanaged.

"That £1.5m could have provided more nursing staff in the front line and taken pressure off the people who have really worked their socks off in the last year."

"It is very odd and people are very angry."

Shepway Liberal Democrats