HOSPITAL bosses have refuted accusations that a celebratory dinner, which cost around £2,000, was a waste of cash that would have been better spent on patient care.
Around 80 people connected to South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust attended a celebration dinner at the Bull Hotel, Gerrards Cross, yesterday to celebrate the successful completion of a £44 million scheme to build a modern wing at Wycombe Hospital and virtually rebuild Amersham Hospital.
But an anonymous bystander, who wrote to the Free Press about the dinner, said: "I am sure the tax-paying public, patients waiting for treatment, and those who have been refused drugs would find it interesting. I had no idea the trust was so flush with cash."
Trust officials say the money came from a fund earmarked for the purpose and that no funds were diverted from patient care.
Roy Darby, chief executive of the trust, said: "I make no apology for this celebration. We have a great deal to celebrate. Patients are reaping the benefits of the £44 million investment in 21st century healthcare."
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