Give Us the Facts - We call for RVH Floor Plans

The East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust have been challenged to publish floor plans of the RVH site showing the current layout of facilities at the site and the proposed layout if the sell-off of the main building goes ahead. The publication of the plans would clarify the number of consulting rooms, the waiting area, staff facilities and storage space available at the RVH after any sale of the main building.

The request, in an email to George Jenkins, Chairman of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, from SORV campaigner and Lib Dem Folkestone Town Councillor Tim Prater on 6 February read:

"Further to our previous correspondence on the future of the Royal Victoria Hospital, I am again writing to you as the Chair of the Hospitals Trust.

I should first thank you for agreeing the attendance of Matthew Kershaw and Howard Jones and the Save Our Royal Victoria public meeting in January, and the subsequent attendance of Howard Jones at the Folkestone Town Council meeting.

"At the meeting with Folkestone Town Council I requested of Howard Jones that in order to allay the concerns of local people on the ability of the RVH site to hold all current services on the site, floor plans should be published showing the current and proposed future configurations of the

buildings at the site. Mr Jones declined that idea at the meeting, I believe saying that it would be unhelpful for lay-people to see such plans, but instead offering to show Councillors around the hospital and its facilities.

"After further consideration however, I do strongly believe that the publication of such floor plans would be the best route forward, in order to inform proper debate on the proposed sell off of the main RVH building. I would also believe that these plans should be public documents, as it would simply show the current and proposed layout of public facilities within a public building - hardly top secret!

"I ask therefore if you can send me a copy of the floor plans, which I would plan to make available on our campaign web site. I would hope that these plans would inform the currently considerable debate on the impact of the sale of the main building on the number of consulting rooms, the waiting area, staff facilities and storage space available at the RVH."

The SORV campaign will publish any reply and supplied plans through the www.sorv.org.uk campaign web site.