£811-a-day bill for hospital boss
A HOSPITAL in the grip of a deepening cash crisis is to pay its new stand-in chief executive more than £800 a day.
The cost has been approved by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire which has run up debts of around £27 million.
Acting chief executive Jim Birrell's salary is well-above the wage of highly-respected Julia Bridgewater, who has resigned and leaves the post this week.
He has previously been named as one of the highest-earning managers in the NHS and was reported to have bagged £1,250 a day of public money at a job he left last year. The hospital has confirmed his cost works out at £211,000 a year or £811 a day for 260 working days.
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But campaigners suspect more senior health bodies may also be adding to the figure and have challenged officials to reveal his total earnings.
Ian Syme, co-ordinator of pressure group North Staffordshire Healthwatch, said: "I cannot see such a big earner taking a huge pay cut to come here for £211,000. That may be his cost to the trust but doesn't mean part of salary is not coming from a higher body such as the Strategic Health Authority or the Department of Health.
"As it is all NHS money, the public should be told his total salary. It is an obscene amount which is adding to the debt."
In contrast, the latest accounts reveal Mrs Bridgewater was on £170,000 annually, although extras such as national insurance contributions take the final figure up to £205,000.
Now leaders representing the 7,000 hospital staff have raised concerns jobs and services could be put at risk.
John Davis, a public representative on the hospital council, said: "Surely a trust so financially challenged could have found an interim chief at a more reasonable cost.
"They could have asked someone already at the trust to step in to bridge the gap.
"After all, Mrs Bridgewater rose to chief executive and did an excellent job."
Julia Ellis, the Royal College of Midwives' leader at the hospital and chairman of the staff side, said: "We are interested in getting to the bottom of all this."
Mr Birrell, pictured below, who takes up his new job a week today, was previously interim head of a hospital group in Leicester.
NHS management house magazine the Health Service Journal listed him as the fifth most expensive interim executive in the NHS last July. According to the publication, he was paid £1,250 a day during a stint as director of delivery at the Birmingham and Solihull Primary Care Trusts between October 2011 and last March.
A hospital spokesman said: "The total cost of employing the current chief executive (salary plus employer 'on costs' like national insurance contributions) is £205,000. The annualised cost to the trust of employing the new interim chief executive will be £211,000."
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by Eldercare
Sunday, January 27 2013, 5:32PM
“The previous Chief Executive should stay in the post and be made to answer to her trusts failings my grandfather has just been awarded £500 for this trust who have lost important medical notes that we required to prove failings and neglect and abuse in elderly care at this hospital.
The media frenzy over Stafford hospital is stalling other hospitals failings”
by Eldercare
Sunday, January 27 2013, 5:24PM
“The previous Chief Executive should stay in the post and be made to answer to her trusts failings my grandfather has just been awarded £500 for this trust who have lost important medical notes that we required to prove failings and neglect and abuse in elderly care at this hospital.
Why did Mrs Bridgewater think her trust had 2 Million surplus and then leaves when it is apparent that they are 20 million and more in debt
The media frenzy over Stafford hospital is stalling other hospitals failings”
by johnarc
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 6:54PM
“Why should it be necessary to hire a temporary chief executive. Could it be that the current incumbent is being allowed to leave without serving her contractual period of notice? If so, we taxpayers need an explanation of why.”
by stokepotter
Monday, January 21 2013, 11:00PM
“'Notanumber'. You obviously do not understand or know about the Interim labour market. These guys are hired for 3,6, 9 or 12 months maximum at a time. They are usually hired to turn a business around from being a failure; stabilise it; do a holding operation until a new permanent member of staff is hired, or a combination of these. Therefore Mr Birrells appointment is the norm.
Quite often the Interim is also part of the team to recruit his permanent successor as he or she is able to use their knowledge and experience to the benefit of the organisation in this role.”
by stokepotter
Monday, January 21 2013, 10:15PM
“jokerjohnny. Vote Labour - now I know you are a real joker.”
by jokerjohnny
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:58PM
“stokepotter
as jontoe says everythings the tories fault so you must be wrong as he is a big headed twerp and knowall. now run along like sheep and vote labour”
by stokepotter
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:55PM
“stokeandvale. He must care as he is taking a massive paycut from £1250 a day to £811. Must be the recession hitting even the top guys. Unless you are a permanent employee senior manager in the Public Sector that is, then the sky is the limit and what he gets then looks like is quite reasonable.”
by stokepotter
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:43PM
“jokerjohnny.You really are a joker aren't you? It was Brown & Blair who upped the 'investment' in the NHs, most of which went on big salary increases and not into improving the Service. You need to blame them Labour idiots - not Cameron & Mrs Thatcher who had been given the poison challise job in different eras to sort out the mess left by spendthrift Labour. It was also those Labour idiots who provided the 'Open door' policy for immigration -hence why we are in this mess now.”
by Backdoored
Monday, January 21 2013, 9:40PM
“Johnny that's terrific. I've always admired such as yourself, an astute student of politics.”
by jokerjohnny
Monday, January 21 2013, 8:23PM
“its thatcher and camerons fault end of.bring back blair and brown more jobs and less immagration”