Outrage over NHS chief's £13,500 as jobs face axe

Published on Tuesday 13 July 2010 13:55

THE chief executive of NHS Lothian was handed £13,500 in perks last year - despite taking home a £200,000-a-year salary.

James Barbour received the payments as health chiefs faced up to making 60 million worth of savings over the next two years.

Prof Barbour's "benefit in kind" payments increased by 2000 from the previous year.

The details were disclosed in a first copy of NHS Lothian's accounts for 2009/10.

In them it has emerged that health board executives' total pay has topped 1.7m, and the number of employees paid more than 50,000 has swollen. In all, board members earned 32,000 in perks.

Critics have slammed the organisation for handing out bonuses when 2000 jobs will have to be cut.

However, the health board said the 13,500 payment wasn't a bonus, and that Prof Barbour's pay scale was agreed at a national level.

Dr Jean Turner, director of the Scotland Patients Association, said: "It's time these people at the top of the NHS began proving their worth.

"I can't understand why someone paid 200,000 a year and millions in a pension needs thousands in benefits.

"Normal workers on the NHS who already feel undervalued will see these numbers and feel quite low. Rather than getting rid of nursing posts, some of these managers should look at taking a cut."

There was also criticism of the number of non-medical workers earning bumper salaries. The figures show 127 people in non-clinical roles made more than 50,000, with 33 raking in more than 70,000.

That was two more than last year. There are now 1361 clinicians who make more than 50,000, a rise of more than 100 from last year.

The 1.7m paid to board members is actually a 200,000 fall from last year, while the total perks payments are also slightly down.

Other high-earning board members include director of public health, Dr Alison McCallum, on 140,000 a year and director of human resources Alan Boyter on 145,000. Dr Charles Swainson, medical director, and James McCaffery, chief operating officer, are both retiring this summer and earn 290,000 and 180,000 respectively.

The Conservative's health spokeswoman in Scotland, Mary Scanlon, said: "For some of the (board members'] salaries you could have eight nurses, we really have to start asking is this value for money.

"Health boards should not be offering vastly-inflated salaries, but there is such a tick-box culture now that managers who meet targets are valued more highly than clinicians."

As previously reported, 333 nursing posts will go this year, alongside 1700 other jobs by the end of 2011, though it is understood these will all occur through natural wastage.

Alan Boyter, director of human resources and organisational development for NHS Lothian, said: "It is important to note that these are draft accounts which have not yet been laid before parliament for final approval.

"The money detailed as 'benefits in kind' for executive board members is not a bonus. It is a taxable allowance which can include, for example, relocation costs or an allowance for a car. These costs are all approved by NHS Lothian's Remuneration Committee.

"Board members and senior managers are remunerated in accordance with approved national pay rates. All posts at this level are subject to rigorous job evaluation arrangements and the pay scales applied reflect the outcomes of these processes.

"The overall spend on directors' salaries has dropped due to the change in membership of NHS Lothian's board compared to previous years.

"The rise in number of clinicians paid over 50,000 is a consequence of being on incremental pay scales and therefore they will earn higher salaries year on year.

"We intend to reduce the number of senior managers over the next two years by a minimum of 20 posts. That process has already started with the decision not to replace a Director level post saving over 100k a year."

Board defends media spend

NHS Lothian chiefs have defended spending almost 500,000 on its communications department last year.

That figure has risen by more than 150,000 in two years and makes NHS Lothian one of the biggest spenders on communication in Scotland.

But the health board said this represented a tiny fraction of the overall NHS costs, and was much cheaper since NHS trusts were scrapped.

Alan Boyter, director of human resources, said: "NHS Lothian sees over a million patients a year and our communications team provides a vital service in ensuring that patients, staff, local communities and the media receive appropriate and timely information.

"Ensuring patients and other stakeholders have the right information can prevent ill health by ensuring risks are effectively communicated which reduces the burden on the health service over the long term.

"Without a communications team, the job of dealing with enquiries about health issues, including FoI requests, would fall to other operational or clinical staff, potentially diverting them from vital patient care.

"Since NHS Trusts were dissolved, NHS Lothian's communications staff has reduced from thirteen to eight, providing a saving."