£175k NHS boss dresses as Superman and dances through hospital corridors

But unfortunately for the chief executive of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, not everyone is seeing it that way.

A video of Phil Morley dressed as Superman and dancing through hospital corridors to the Tony Christie song Is This the Way to Amarillo has sparked a fierce online backlash after it was leaked on YouTube.

Mr Morley is branded “out of touch” and an “egomaniac” 
by the user who posted the 
clip.

He claims the stunt “insults 8,000 staff members by suggesting chair dancing and chair exercises are what is needed to improve morale and reduce stress”.

He asks: “When should they do this? During lunchtime, which many staff simply do not have the time to take?”

Other users who commented on the video branded it “painfully cringey”, “crass degrading rubbish” and an “utter sham”.

One demanded to know: “How much money is this man on? How much money did the sketch cost bearing in mind how many other senior staff were present?”

The video, which was made to promote Workout at Work Day last Wednesday, depicts a stressed Mr Morley juggling tasks at his desk while captions ask: “Busy? Tired? Tense? Aches? Pains?”

Answering one call, he says: “I’m so stressed, I can’t even tell you. I’ve got loads to do and I 
just don’t seem to have the 
time.”

He then spins in his chair and morphs into the superhero as the 1971 hit starts to play. He dons a white sweatband on his head and leads a dancing procession of staff through the hospital corridors.

Defending the video yesterday, Mr Morley said he had been asked by the physiotherapy team to take part to help promote the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy campaign.

It aims to encourage workers to be more active to help combat stress and avoid problems such as back pain, which can result from poor working habits and lead to prolonged sickness absence.

Mr Morley, who joined the trust three years ago and receives an annual salary of more than £175,000, said: “The idea was to create something quirky and memorable to encourage staff to think about how they can keep themselves fit and healthy at work and I felt it was a worthwhile project to be involved with.

“Whether people loved the event or hated it, the health and well-being of trust staff is vital to us as an organisation and to our patients, which is why we are keen to invest both time and effort in this area.”

He said the physiotherapy team had visited workplaces across Hull to advise other employers on staff health and wellbeing.

“They were a great credit to our trust, and it’s really encouraging to see them contributing to the well-being and prosperity of the city by tackling the issue of employee absence,” he said.

Paul Seabourne, PhysioHull service manager, said Mr Morley’s participation was “a real show of support and willingness”.

“Often such initiatives suffer from staff being self-conscious, resulting in a lack of willingness to participate,” he said.

“The video, hopefully, helped some people overcome their fears and initiated positive discussions regarding being active and trying to ensure staff take their breaks.”