NHS Trust spending £500,000 to save cash

The money is being paid by the NHS in Leeds to PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of an attempt increase the quality of services while reducing costs as Government spending cuts bite.

But the decision to spend the money, which would be enough to pay the wages of 16 nurses for a year, has been criticised at a time when hospitals are cutting staff.

Already hospitals in Leeds are having to slash their workforce by 700 posts, and 300 mental health jobs in the city are also to go.

All health bodies in the city are involved in the Transformation Programme to review the health and social care system and devise improvements.NHS managers say a private firm has been employed to ensure the review is done quickly and every organisation is reviewed equally.

But patient watchdogs questioned why finance staff already employed within the NHS could not do the work.

Maureen Idle, of Leeds Hospital Alert, said: "It seems a lot of money and why, in a big organisation like Leeds NHS, have they not got someone internally who could do it?

"And if they are insisting it must be done externally, what guarantee have we got that they have shopped around to get the best price?"

NHS Leeds chief executive John Lawlor defended the decision, saying: "We are in a unique position at the moment where the whole Leeds health and social care system must transform to ensure it is fit for the future.

"This is no small task and we have enlisted the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers to support us in remodelling this complex system."