ACCORDING to a recent memo, all milk, bread, drinks etc issued to wards at Fairfield Hospital are for the use of patients only. Visitors are to be directed to vending machines or the restaurant.

So could Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust tell us what we do when relatives have had some bad news? There are no vending machines handy to get a cup of tea. Do we go halfway round the hospital in search of tea, coffee and sugar?

What happens after 7.30pm when the canteen closes? Where do night shift staff go for a drink, or will the Trust open the canteen 24 hours a day? If this is a cost-saving exercise, do canteen staff pay for their drinks? And will they still get subsidised meals?

Is the NHS really in this much trouble?

STAFF MEMBER