Unwanted award for scrooge-like hospital

10:57am Thursday 3rd January 2008

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Health campaigners announced the winners of the Meanest Hospital in Britain title for 2007 - with the award going to the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Health Emergency said Epsom and St Helier landed the title for repeated acts of stinginess throughout the year but their winning effort came from the decision to remove one in three light bulbs in St Helier Hospital back in February last year.

“Millions of pounds is being wasted in the NHS on bureaucrats and management consultants who charge us a fortune to come up with barmy, penny-pinching measures like removing light bulbs and asking nurses to work for nothing."

Geoff Martin

The Trust also scrapped hot meals for patients at lunch time at both Epsom and St Helier hospitals, asked staff to do their own cleaning in some areas and attempted to ban the issuing of pyjamas and nighties.

Epsom and St Helier had to beat off stiff competition and the runners up this year is the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust. Maidstone was plunged into a scandal with the death of patients in a clostridium difficile outbreak and also revealed that nurses had been asked to come in and work on their days off.

Other contenders in this year's Meanest Hospital award were the Royal Hampshire County Hospital - fingered in a major report on food hygiene standards and Southampton University Hospital - top of the league for hospital car parking profiteering with an annual take of £2.414million followed closely by Cambridge University Hospitals at £2.263million.

Geoff Martin, Health Emergency's head of campaigns, said: "Millions of pounds is being wasted in the NHS on bureaucrats and management consultants who charge us a fortune to come up with barmy, penny-pinching measures like removing light bulbs and asking nurses to work for nothing.

"Front line care and basic standards are compromised while the men in suits with their clipboards patrol the wards cooking up dangerous, cash-saving scams."

A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier Trust said: "Epsom and St Helier has made progress since these stories were first reported.

"Our infection rates are reducing, our Healthcare Commission ratings are improving, and our finances are getting on a more even footing."