Revealed: £2m. cost for just 21 patients at KEVII

PRESSURE is building to close the King Edward VII hospital after it was revealed that it costs at least £100,000 a year per patient to run.

Dealing mainly with older patients with physical needs, in 2012 Health and Social Services spent at least £2,139,446 to run the site that is currently caring for just 21 people.

But as that figure, revealed in a written question, does not include information such as the costs of specialist input and visiting GPs or maintenance staff, the costs are expected to be considerably higher.

Deputy Mike Hadley, who used written questions to obtain the information, believes that the hospital should be closed to save money, with the private sector caring for the users instead.

Private homes spoken to by the Guernsey Press quoted figures of between £30,000 and £70,000 for a room depending on the care needs of a patient – costs which could be covered by the existing nursing care benefit scheme and the States old age pension.