New Marks and Spencer Opens In St George's Hospital

The new entrance to St George’s Hospital, or is it 'Marks and Spencer', opened on 25 March. It was described by the Hospital’s Chief Executive as, ‘showing that, the Trust means business’. In his Report to the Trust Board, the CE thanked ‘St George’s Hospital Charity for their generous support of this project’. And well he might –at a cost of two and half million pounds the funding of the new entrance was the biggest single grant ever given by the Charity.

Many have asked was this the right thing to do with benefactor’s money. People leave money to a hospital so that it can continue its good work-not so that it can turn its front entrance into a shopping mall. Of course St George’s Charity is a law until itself-so until such time as the minutes are made available, no one will ever know exactly what kind of discussion, if any, took place about this decision.

So, those that have given money to St George’s in the past and are now no longer with us, can continue turning in their graves over what’s happened to their money.

No sooner had the new entrance opened, but further controversy arose. It would make an ideal setting for table top sales and other money raising schemes for the myriad of small charities and self help groups that abound in St George’s, as they do in every hospital. No problem there you might think-such activities would enhance the Hospital’s image as a part of the community. Not so ! This is not the image that St George’s now wants to project. Hospitals are businesses according to the new ethos-so St George’s must project a ‘corporate image’-hence the need for a ‘company secretary’ at close on to £100,000 pa.

So there is no place for ‘table top’ sales. They are very passé. 'Marks and Spencer' can try and boost their takings by inserting a leaflet in every hospital employee’s wage slip-but the ‘Friends of St George’s, that organisation that works tirelessly for the Hospital’s good -I’m afraid if you want to raise money you will have to do it upstairs near the restaurant , far away from any of the thousands of potential customers that flock through St George’s doors every day.

This is the new corporate world of St George’s In the eyes of some; health is a business, just like any other.