BOSSES running a Yorkshire hospital were awarded pay rises of up to 22 per cent as other staff were hit with below-inflation increases, the Yorkshire Post can reveal.
Unions last night angrily criticised the huge rises handed to executive board members at York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Newly-published figures show former chief executive Jim Easton saw his annual salary rise by 22 per cent to £139,000 in 2
007-8. All but one of his board colleagues won increases of 12 or 17 per cent.
Hospital chiefs claim the increases were vital to prevent top executives being headhunted amid concerns their pay had fallen significantly behind other organisations.
The awards were made last year when the trust was forced to axe nearly 100 beds and shed 200 posts as NHS services in North Yorkshire plunged into financial crisis. They compare with increases of about 1.3 per cent for other NHS managers.
Trust chairman Professor Alan Maynard, a health economist at York University, said an external review had been carried out into board executives pay at the organisation which found salaries were "considerably out of line" with comparable trusts.
"Our concern was around recruitment and after much deliberation we decided to change the pay our directors receive to move it up in order to strengthen retention and recruitment," he said.
"Otherwise we were worried people would get headhunted from the organisation because the problem is it is a very competitive market."
Last night Terry Cunliffe, regional officer for the Unite union, condemned the rises.
"I find it appalling that the board have got pay rises of that kind when our members are in reality experiencing pay cuts – they will be outraged by such big increases," he said.
"It's strange that there are concerns about headhunting board members, where turnover is not significant, but there don't appear to be such concerns about other staff."
Tory Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh said top executives ought to set an example.
"Staff increases should be the same across the board. Each member of staff should benefit the same amount," she said.
But York Labour MP Hugh Bayley said despite the pay rises, board members still earned significantly less than those in the private sector dealing with similar-size organisations with turnovers of about £200m.
"If you don't pay people well, you get poor managers and we have seen what happens with the difficulties we have had in North Yorkshire when you have poor managers," he said.
Prof Maynard said uplifts had also been given to non-executive directors at the trust. His remuneration – most of which goes to York University – nearly doubled to £48,000 while annual rewards for non-executives had since doubled to £11,000 for a minimum two or three days' work a month.
He said it was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit high-quality people prepared to give up their time to carry out non-executive roles which carry extra significant responsibilities since the organisation took on elite foundation status last year.
NHS trusts can set their own pay for board executives but receive advice each year from Ministers about pay increases which were set last year for senior NHS managers at 1.3 per cent.
Despite the increase, Mr Easton left in November to run one of the country's strategic health authorities.
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