Sir, The hospitals brought profit-maximising into their world by dropping the shops run by “Friends” groups, and contracting with national retailers, choosing those that offered the highest rent (letter, Aug 27). This has seemed to be a pain-free “nice little earner” for the hospitals, in addition to car parking fees. But once the hospital has decided on a strategy to maximise profit, the retailer must cover its high rental cost. A crafty pricing policy is therefore inevitable.
Don’t blame the retailers — speak to the hospital management instead. Low-price retailing could easily be made available in hospitals, but only if hospitals stopped renting to the highest bidder.
Jeremy Baker
London W11