Harrogate Borough Council billed the NHS more than £3 million in costs associated with Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital.
Set up at the council-owned Harrogate Convention Centre in April last year at a cost of £27 million, the hospital did not treat a single covid patient during the pandemic. But it was used to provide CT scans to non-coronavirus patients.
Following the rollout of the vaccination programme, the 500-bed hospital was decommissioned in March this year.
Although the local authority did not charge the health service rent, it did invoice them for other related costs.
Figures from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust show a total of £3,004,634 was billed to the trust during the time the Nightingale was in place.
Invoices between £124,000 and £375,000 a month were made by the council.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed the payments were for utility bills, business rates and building insurance.
Nightingale payments to council since April 2020:
April, May, June: £378,220
July: £353,279
August: £144,583
September: £161,518
October: £124,449
November: £359,968
December: £361,657
2021
January: £372,152
February: £373,479
March: £375,329
As previously reported, the health service also paid consultancy firm KPMG £922,899 to help set up the Harrogate Nightingale.
NHS documents revealed Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust paid the company the sum during the first three months of the hospital being in place.
Read more:
- Investigation launched into Harrogate Nightingale hospital
- WATCH: NHS takes down Nightingale hospital in Harrogate
- ‘A costly PR stunt’: calls for an inquiry into Harrogate Nightingale
During the pandemic, the government earmarked £3 billion of funding to support the seven Nightingale hospitals across the country.
‘A costly PR stunt’
While it was heralded as a “tremendous success” by local councillors, the lack of use of the Nightingale proved to be contentious and prompted calls for an inquiry.
Harrogate councillor Jim Clark, who sits on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, proposed an investigation into the hospital in order to “learn lessons” from the matter.
Cllr Clark also suggested using the hospital for other medical reasons, such as routine operations, flu jabs and patient recuperation.
Meanwhile, Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, has described the Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt” and said it should have been closed months before it was decommissioned.
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:
“Any costs relating to the use of utilities at the convention centre are calculated on standard metered usage. These costs are then passed onto the client throughout the term of the contract.”
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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.