This week the TaxPayers' Alliance has published the NHS Rich List which examines the renumeration of senior managers across NHS trusts in 2023-24 and compares this with the trust's performance on A&E and referral to treatment (RTT) waiting times for January 2025.
The list reveals there were 1,694 senior managers receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration across 224 NHS Trusts. Total remuneration includes salary, expenses, benefits, bonuses and pension contributions. Looking at salaries alone, 1,557 had salary entitlements of at least £100,000, including 279 receiving between £200,000 and £300,000 and 17 who received over £300,000. There were 512 senior managers in the NHS on a higher salary than the prime minister.
East Cheshire Trust, which is responsible for Macclesfield District General Hospital, Congleton War Memorial Hospital and Knutsford and District Community Hospital, was the worst performing trust by percentage of A&E attendances seen within four hours or less. Just 50.6 per cent of patients were seen within four hours in East Cheshire, falling well below the 78 per cent standard.
The trust paid 8 senior managers over £100,000 in total remuneration, including the director of people and culture, Rachel Charlton, who received £367,500 in total remuneration in 2023-24.
Deputy CEO and medical director John Hunter had £232,500 in total remuneration, chief executive Ged Murphy received total remuneration of £172,500, director of finance, estates and planning Kara Mason received £152,500 and director of transformation and partnerships Katherine Sheerin's total renumeration was £137,500.
Other members of staff paid over £100,000 in total remuneration were: chief operating officer Simon Goff (£122,500), director of corporate affairs and governance Lorraine Jackman (£117,500) and director of nursing and quality Kate Daly-Brown (£117,500).
The worst performing trust according to referral to treatment median waiting times was Cambridge and Peterborough, at 32.1 weeks. This Trust had 8 senior managers receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration. Their chief medical director, Catherine Walsh, received £387,500 in total remuneration.
Shimeon Lee, policy analyst of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be appalled that while NHS patients face prolonged waiting lists and dismal A&E performance, hundreds of senior managers are pocketing six-figure pay packets.
"No one disputes that frontline staff deserve decent pay, but this rich list shows that there are sky-high salaries for senior bureaucrats, many in underachieving trusts, that are impossible to justify.
"If ministers are serious about getting the NHS back on track, they need to ensure that managers of poor performing Trusts aren't being rewarded for failure, put patients first, and ensure best practice is spread throughout the health service."
East Cheshire Trust have been contacted for comment, should this be received it will be added to this article.
Comments
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I don't know what else to say - that's printable!
How absolutely disgusting.
Fair pay due wherever appropriate. But this is disgusting.
The CEO of a £250m would expect at double Ged Murphy's salary, arguably more. As a headhunter of 30 years experience, I place C-Level execs in organisations from £30m to about the Trust's £250m. They all earn into £6-figures, and CEOs have salaries starting with a '3'. BUT - these execs are all accountable, directly accountable for failure. They treat customers as king and business performance as paramount. A very different environment.
The issue its that the wrong people and the wrong mindset of people are running our NHS trust. £100k may not be seen as 'peanuts', but in that scale of organisation it is, and hence why we get 'monkeys' who are clearly unable to run a trust of that size and complexity.
As with all Public Sector bodies, it's value that needs to be looked at, not cost.
...which brings us to the sorry headline, no surprise to anyone that has used any of the CE A&E services to see they are the worst performing in the country, and no surprise given what I've written above.
It's just more proof that the system is broken, alas, the gravy train that is our NHS precludes any real and lasting change.