An NHS Trust which has been contributing tens of millions of pounds to the King’s coffers has been forced to make sweeping job cuts in order to survive.
An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times revealed the King’s Duchy of Lancaster estate agreed to store electric ambulances owned by Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Trust in its warehouses at a cost of £11.4 million over 15 years.
The leasing deal reportedly shows that the rent has increased by 67 per cent above the £15 per square foot paid by the Metropolitan Police, the previous tenant of the Duchy’s warehouse.
It has come as a bitter blow for the cash-strapped central London NHS Trust, which is preparing to make sweeping job cuts.
According to reports, a whopping 58 per cent of the roles in the facilities and capital development team will have to be culled to save cash.
The Unite union is threatening to strike over the trust’s plans to reduce the number of roles in the team responsible for transport and construction projects from 154 roles to just 64.
Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said the hospital had been “acting disgracefully towards its workers who are vital to keep its hospitals functioning”.
Norman Baker, author of And What Do You Do?, a book on royal finances, added: “The increase [in rent charged to the NHS trust] shows they are mercenary about extracting every last penny they can. It’s naked greed. It’s a royal rip-off.”
A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment on the rental deal with the King’s estate.
The spokesperson for the NHS trust said it was still consulting on the planned job cuts. “We are committed to working in partnership with our trade unions, and will address any issues raised with us through the appropriate channels.”
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