Published: 9 January, 2014
By TOM FOOT

THE spirit of Christmas has often thawed the frostiest of relationships but not, it seems, at the Whittington Hospital where the annual festive bash was cancelled after poor ticket sales. 

The entire workforce – more than 4,000 doctors, consultants, technicians, nurses, administrators, accountants, record keepers and the few remaining medical secretaries – was invited to the £5 event at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church on Highgate Hill.

It was hoped that managers and staff would set aside their differences and share a mince pie or even snatch a kiss under the mistletoe after a tumultuous year of job cuts, public demonstrations and boardroom protest.

A hospital source said: “They booked the venue, did all the promotion, which as you can imagine went down like a lead brick with staff, and it was cancelled a week or two beforehand because the staff felt there was nothing to celebrate.”

At previous Christmas parties, doctors and consultants have staged a “hilarious panto to entertain everyone”, according to the source. 

A Whittington spokeswoman said: “Following requests from some Whittington Health staff, a Christmas party was planned for an evening in December. The party unfortunately had to be cancelled because only a small number of staff purchased tickets in advance. 

“However, there was a real festive mood when hundreds of staff attended a Christmas lunch over three days in our restaurant. Many teams arranged their own parties and a busy calendar of festive events for staff and patients was held, including choir performances by local schools and carol singing on the wards.”