Some good in unhealthy tale

Some good has at last come out of the dismal saga of Eastbourne General Hospital and its former chief executive Clive Uren.

He stepped down following a damning report into care levels at the hospital but is still in line for a pay-off totalling £76,000.

We agreed with Lewes MP Norman Baker who said in the House of Commons that failure should not be rewarded.

Now NHS regional director Barbara Stocking has told all trusts to look at contracts so that it does not happen again.

At Eastbourne, concern over deaths in understaffed wards led to a report revealing that Mr Uren and his team had lost the confidence of workers.

He's quit in disgrace but will still get his cash. The furore has ensured that in future, bungling health chiefs will get nothing when they go - and that can only be right.

Back from blaze

The prospects looked bleak for the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton when fire tore a hole in its heart a year ago today.

But now the roof is almost back on the most damaged section and the hotel is set to reopen for the main summer season next year.

It's a real phoenix risen from the ashes and owner Britannia Hotels have shown confidence in the future of Brighton by rebuilding it so quickly.

That's only part of a £30 million investment by leading hotels in the recent years, which will ensure that Brighton goes into the millennium as one of the nation's top resorts.

Scrooge schools

Schoolchildren in West Sussex won't get a traditional Christmas dinner next month for the first time in more than 50 years.

That's because the county council has stopped hot lunches and the kitchens have been stripped of cooking equipment.

Instead, the kids will get a Christmas card from the caterers and will be able to enter a colouring contest.

It's a poor substitute for turkey and all the trimmings. Next they'll be sacking Santa and sending round Scrooge to the schools.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.