Last week the Telegraph reported that 5,000 patients being treated by the NHS had been put into hotels for overnight stays. Freedom of Information requests showed 21 trusts have spent £1.6 million since January 2012.
The scheme has come under the attack of patients’ groups, who expressed their concern over the care of patients at these often luxurious hotels. Roger Goss, co-director of Patient Concern said the schemes were "an outrageous waste of taxes". Even worse is that he thinks this can sometimes pose a risk to patients.
Examples of some of the hotels used include the four-star Mercure Sheffield St Paul’s Hotel and Spa. This has been used on eight occasions. The price of one night with breakfast normally costs around £94.
Is this really a justifiable way to spend taxpayers’ cash? It would better for the NHS to cut out wasteful spending in other areas so they can prioritise their resources - there are many examples of how they can do this in the Bumper Book of Government Waste.