New hospital would need a clover leaf

Like Harry Bell, I have also been to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on the occasion of my 50th medical graduate reunion, and I would agree with him that it looks very impressive.

However, it has two serious drawbacks which we should avoid if we are to build a new hospital in Canterbury.

The first is the straight-line layout which, with its exceptionally long corridors, means a lot of time spent walking between different areas, a particular problem for the resuscitation team, who have suggested they be supplied with roller skates to get to emergencies.

A “clover leaf” construction would have been much better, with a central area for the resuscitation team and for other staff to meet.

The second drawback is that it was built with PFI (Private Finance Initiative) money which means the loans will have to be paid back for decades from the NHS budget in Birmingham.

We are already feeling the effects of this system, as three hospitals in west Kent were built under similar PFI schemes and now the NHS in the whole of Kent is having to pay back these loans, even though we in east Kent avoided using them.

As I am the same age as the Kent & Canterbury Hospital, it is hardly surprising that we are both a bit the worse for wear, but at least the K&C can be reborn as a new centre of excellence, ideally with a medical school, an option which unfortunately is not available to me. Dr Barbara Armstrong Queens Avenue, Canterbury