Dozens of NHS managers are paid more than Theresa May despite promises to crack down on executive salaries
- At least 25 bureaucrats in the NHS got more than £150,000 in salaries last year
- Another 423 from clinical commissioning groups got paid more than £100,000
- Highest paid was management consultant James Murray, on at least £300,000
Dozens of local NHS managers pocket more than the Prime Minister – despite promises to crack down on executive pay.
The Mail on Sunday has discovered that at least 25 bureaucrats at county-level NHS clinical commissioning groups received more than £150,000 in salary and bonuses last year.
According to an analysis of the latest annual reports from CCGs across England, a further 423 individuals were paid more than £100,000, with hundreds more part-time board members earning in excess of Theresa May’s salary on a pro-rata basis.
Among the highest paid was management consultant James Murray, who received at least £300,000 as chief financial officer of South West London CCG Alliance. Margaret Ashworth, the interim chief financial officer of Coastal West Sussex CCG, was paid between £295,000 and £300,000 for a ten-and-a-half month period
Many of the managers received six-figure rewards while presiding over cuts such as restricting access to hip surgery or IVF.
Among the highest paid was management consultant James Murray, who received at least £300,000 as chief financial officer of South West London CCG Alliance. Margaret Ashworth, the interim chief financial officer of Coastal West Sussex CCG, was paid between £295,000 and £300,000 for a ten-and-a-half month period.
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Her colleague Ralph McCormack, executive lead for stabilisation and transition, received between £275,000 and £280,000 for the full year. The biggest earner on a pro-rata basis was Carl Pettitt, former interim CFO of Camden CCG, who received between £195,000 and £205,000 for five months’ work split over two financial years – the equivalent of an annual salary of between £468,000 and £492,000.
However, Camden CCG used total rather than pro-rata earnings in its annual report, stating: ‘No individual CCG Very Senior Managers have been paid more than £150,000 in 2017-18.’
CCGs were introduced in 2013 following reforms led by former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and are responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services.
At least 25 bureaucrats at county-level NHS clinical commissioning groups received more than £150,000 in salary and bonuses last year
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, called the figures ‘alarming’.
A spokesman for SW London CCG Alliance said the cost of employing Mr Murray ‘included agency fees, VAT and employer National Insurance contributions’. He is now on a permanent £140,000-a-year contract.
NHS Coastal West Sussex CCG said both Ms Ashworth and Mr McCormack had been in ‘past interim positions’ which had since been filled permanently.
A spokesman for NHS Camden said: ‘We engaged Ernst & Young in 2017-18 to provide a chief finance officer during a time of transition. Payments include a consultancy fee and VAT.’
NHS England said: ‘A cap was introduced in 2016 for all new employees and, as set out in the NHS Long-Term Plan, a further 20 per cent reduction in administrative costs will be made this year, with savings reinvested in frontline care.’
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