Jonathan Arnott MEP describes million pound hospital trust salaries as “appalling”.
News that the chief executive of a struggling NHS trust
earned a pay package of £1.26 million has been described as “appalling” by
regional MEP Jonathan Arnott.
Tricia Hart runs the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust on a salary between £220,000 and £225,000, with added pension benefits
worth up to £1.04 million.
Yet under her management, the Trust’s financial deficit
grew from £2.9m to £4.4m in 2013/14 and it has also been admonished for failing
to meet targets on infection control.
Ms Hart’s remuneration package was revealed as part of a
wider investigation into “fat cat” salaries in the public sector by the Daily
Mail.
Mr Arnott, UKIP Euro-MP said: “I’m appalled by this and I’d
be astonished if anyone other than public sector fat cats would think any
differently.
“This is an outrageous amount of money being diverted away
from actual health care and instead into the pockets of those who are
effectively administrators.
“An entry level student nurse starts on a little more than
£21,000, so that could have paid towards 60 more nurses to provide care for
patients.
“It is no good the NHS complaining about needing money when
vast amounts of its budget goes on scandalously sky high wages for non-clinical
staff.
“If we are to keep the NHS free at the point of access and
cherished for the institution it is, we urgently need to look at the ridiculous
sums of money being diverted away from patient care,” said Mr
Arnott.
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