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18
Dec 2020
Harrogate council billing NHS over £100,000 a month for Nightingale
Harrogate Borough Council is continuing to bill the NHS over £100,000 a month for gas, electricity and water at Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital.
Set up at the council-owned Harrogate Convention Centre in April at a cost of £27m, the Nightingale has so far not treated a single covid patient.
The council does not charge the NHS rent for the building. However, figures from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust show the venue, which opened in the early 1980s, incurs significant costs for utilities.
The payments for utilities have been ongoing throughout the year and were previously reported by the Stray Ferret in August.
The most recent published figures are below:
August: £144,583
September: £161,518
October: £124,449.
The NHS' contract with the council to run the Nightingale is due to end in March 2021.
A council spokesman said:
Read more:
‘Time to hand Harrogate Nightingale back to council’
Yvette Cooper MP: ‘no spare staff for Harrogate Nightingale’
The Stray Ferret has requested interviews with the NHS about the Harrogate Nightingale on numerous occasions but so far has not received one.
Last month, Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrats leader in the House of Lords, said the time had come to let the council take back control of the building.
The first event listed on the convention centre’s website is the Assemblies of God conference from May 6-8.
Hospitality businesses that rely on trade from the convention centre have suffered this year from its closure.
The Stray Ferret reported earlier this month that the Kimberley Hotel on King’s Road has permanently closed.
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