Hospital fells Christmas tree custom to save cash
8:12am Saturday 8th December 2012 in Local
PATIENTS and staff will have to do without a Christmas tree outside the Royal Bolton Hospital this year because of budget cuts.
Hospital chiefs have decided that the ninemetre- tall tree, which is usually placed annually on the main driveway into the hospital opposite accident and emergency, costs too much.
As bosses review spending at the cashstrapped hospital, it was revealed that the price of moving the tree, assembling it and disposing of it after Christmas would be well over £1,000.
The hospital trust, which announced on November 14 that it would have to make 500 job cuts, including compulsory redundancies, is more than £11 million in the red.
It has to save £38 million in the next two years because of government cuts and has borrowed £10 million from the Department of Health.
Health watchdog Monitor has intervened following a damning financial report, and a £1 million “turnaround team” has been brought in to make savings.
Staff were told via their intranet that the main Christmas tree would not be put up in an effort to save money.
There will still be three other Christmas trees in the hospital.
The maternity unit and the children’s outpatients unit will both have a 2.5-metre tree and there will be an artificial tree in the main reception.
Stephen Tyldsley, the trust’s associate director of estates and facilities, said: “Due to the trust’s financial difficulty and constraints on financial department budgets, it has been decided that this year, the tree we purchase is a non-essential financial spend which would be over £1000.
“This cost is so high as the tree requires the hire of transport, lifting equipment, labour and cost to remove and dispose of the tree.
“This decision will be reviewed in the future, dependant on the trusts’ financial position.”
Volunteer manager Anne Arthur, who runs the Womens’ Royal Service at the hospital, said: “It is nice to have something to look at when you come into the grounds and it will be missed, but I think people will understand why, with the way things are at the moment.”
Comments(12)
macauley
says...
10:46am Sun 9 Dec 12
alecfranco
says...
8:24pm Sun 9 Dec 12
macauley
says...
8:45pm Sun 9 Dec 12
alecfranco wrote:you comment is spot on and i bet the staff there dont miss out on a christmas dinner.
Why doesnt one of those (FAT-CAT -COUNCILORS) Donate a thousand pounds from their massive salary they get. I'm damm sure they could afford it, it might make one or all of them more popular with the general public an the electorate. Well it couldnt do them any harm.
oftbewildered2
says...
9:35am Mon 10 Dec 12
macauley wrote:I am sure the staff at the hospital will have a Christmas dinner on the menu - which they may choose to purchase if they want to.
alecfranco wrote:you comment is spot on and i bet the staff there dont miss out on a christmas dinner.
Why doesnt one of those (FAT-CAT -COUNCILORS) Donate a thousand pounds from their massive salary they get. I'm damm sure they could afford it, it might make one or all of them more popular with the general public an the electorate. Well it couldnt do them any harm.
BWFC1988
says...
12:39pm Mon 10 Dec 12
BWFC1988
says...
12:42pm Mon 10 Dec 12
macauley
says...
9:25pm Mon 10 Dec 12
boltonnut
says...
1:44pm Fri 14 Dec 12
BIGSTEE
says...
3:50pm Fri 14 Dec 12
BIGSTEE
says...
3:54pm Fri 14 Dec 12
BWFC1988 wrote:a grand is how much it would cost to buy,move,fit,decorat
A grand for a Christmas tree?! Behave!!!
e,power, then despose of afterwards!including transport staff etc etc... if you could do it cheaper... go ahead!
twowok
says...
11:08pm Fri 14 Dec 12
hoboh2o says...
7:43am Sun 9 Dec 12