Hotel bosses spent £100k on housing health workers
Hotel bosses spent £100,000 on providing free accommodation to NHS workers during the lockdown.
Doors were opened to medics and frontline health workers at four-star hotel Ten Hill Place in Edinburgh, totalling 2,137 nights of accommodation. It started four days after the lockdown and has only just wound down after providing somewhere to stay for 500 medical and clinical staff working in the capital.
Hotel bosses say it gave them a chance to get used to implementing hygiene standards required at the 129-room hotel for when they are given the nod to reopen to the general public.
The hotel, which is the largest independent hotel in Edinburgh, is owned by Surgeons Quarter – a commercial arm of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. All profits from Ten Hill Place go towards supporting the college’s charitable aims of advancing surgical standards worldwide.
Scott Mitchell, managing director at Surgeons Quarter, said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to accommodate key workers and give them a safe space to rest and recover between difficult shifts. We are so proud of the small part our team has played in helping those at the frontline fighting this virus. This time has also been essential for us to make sure our teams operate with the highest levels of hygiene and cleanliness possible.
“It has also given the opportunity for our staff to practice social distancing guidelines, which will continue well into the future.
“Now our focus is on preparing for the next phase. Like everyone else in the hotel and hospitality sector, we want to get back to business.
“We are awaiting updated guidance from ministers and are fervently hoping that we can reopen to guests as soon as the Scottish Government says it is safe to do so.”
The service provided muchneeded respite for exhausted workers before and after long shifts at both the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Dr
Tracey Gillies, medical director at NHS Lothian, said: “Our thanks and gratitude go to the hotel staff and to the many other people and organisations who have supported NHS workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their generosity is much appreciated.”
The Edinburgh Marathon will not go ahead this year, organisers have announced.
The race, which has been held in May annually since 2003, was initially postponed until October as the coronavirus crisis unfolded in Scotland.
Organisers said yesterday they were “devastated” to cancel the event, which attracts more than 36,000 runners to Edinburgh, and is worth around £40 million to its economy each year.
They blamed uncertainty over the safety of holding large-scale events in future months.
“As you know, it is outside of our control to say when events will be permitted to go ahead,” a message on the Edinburgh Marathon’s official website said. “And sadly there is insufficient information currently available to allow us to estimate when this will be.”
The next Edinburgh Marathon festival, which includes a series of events for adults and young people, is now scheduled to take place in 2021.