Health trust defends £17,500 pay bonus for boss (From Echo)

Health trust defends £17,500 pay bonus for boss

8:00am Friday 11th December 2009 in News By Max Orbach

A HUGE hike in the salary of an NHS chief executive was due to a one-off bonus, according to the health trust.

Dr Patrick Geoghegan, chief executive of the South Essex Partnership Trust, got paid £200,000 in 2008/09 – more than the Prime Minister.

Dr Geoghegan’s salary went up a massive £17,500 on the previous year. However, the trust, which is responsible for mental health services, claiming this was a one-off bonus.

Maxine Forrest, a spokeswoman for the trust, said: “In 2008/09, to recognise the trust’s exceptional performance in national ratings, a one-off bonus was paid and is reflected in the figures reported in our annual report.”

The trust retained excellent ratings for both quality of services and use of resources, according to a 2008 NHS report.

Defending the record of Dr Geoghegan, Mrs Forrest added: “He was recently awarded NHS Leader of the Year.

“Under his leadership, the trust has consistently achieved the highest ratings for use of resources and patient care for three years in a row – the only mental health trust in the country to do so.”

Mrs Forrest said any future salaries for Dr Geoghegan and any other trust employees would be linked to national cost of living increases for NHS staff, set at 2.75 per cent last year. However, John O’Connell, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the pay of top public officials did not reflect the reality of the recession.

He said: “Executive pay in the public sector is completely divorced from the reality of Britain’s fiscal crisis.

“Ordinary families, struggling to make ends meet in the recession, don’t pay their taxes to fund gold-plated deals for public sector fat cats.”

Earlier this week Gordon Brown, who earns £194,250 a year, criticised public bodies for spending public money on fat cat salaries.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance published its version of the rich list looking at public sector pay.

As well as Dr Geoghegan, it was revealed Graham Tosh, medical director of Southend Hospital earned £167,000 while John Gilham, hospital chief executive, pocketed £162,500.

Dr Stephen Morgan, medical director of the Basildon Hospital trust, earned £205,000 and Pam Court, chief executive of NHS South West Essex, earned £152,000.

Andrew Pike, chief executive of NHS South East Essex, earned between £80,000 and £85,000 in 2007/08.