New rules look set to cost Colchester General Hospital an extra £50,000-a-year.
Beds now have to be an extra 40cm (15.75 ins) apart. So new wards planned for the Turner Road site will have to be expanded to accommodate them. That means making larger buildings to contain the planned number of beds.
This will cost Essex Rivers Healthcare, the Trust which runs the hospital, an extra £50,000-a-year in terms of bigger mortgages and larger areas to keep clean.
David Hewitt, director of the private finance initiative (PFI) which is behind the £127 million redevelopment of Colchester General Hospital, said: "It seems to me a cost that's disproportionate to the benefit."
Speaking after the Essex Rivers' board met, he accepted the extra space would give patients increased privacy and dignity. But he added: "There's a lot we could do with £50,000 a year."
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article