A £200k bill for working ten months
HOLDING up a glass of champagne on a luxury trip to Las Vegas, this is the chief nurse who cost more than £200,000 for ten months’ work.
Jackie Ardley’s monthly cost to the health service – which included her salary and agency fees – amounted to what many nurses earn in a year.
Ms Ardley, 57, was employed as an interim chief nurse through an agency – which meant the NHS had to pay extra fees to employ her.
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust had to find the cash to pay her, even though the trust at the time declared financial losses of £13.4million.
And despite the expensive arrangement she had been kept on in the post of director of governance – and is still paid through the agency.
The arrangement has been in place for almost two years, even though NHS trusts are banned from paying managers off the payroll for more than six months.
Ms Ardley – who has her own consultancy firm, Jackie Ardley Consulting Ltd – last year posed for pictures posted online of herself enjoying a luxurious trip to gambling capital Las Vegas.
She can be seen holding a bottle of champagne in what appears to be the first class seating area of a plane.
Another photograph from the trip shows a family member posing by an ‘upperclass’ Virgin Atlantic airport sign.
As well as apparently flying in style, she also appears to have travelled by Limousine during the holiday.
She also met with American boy band Boyz II Men after a concert.
Ms Ardley lives in a £600,000 detached home in Braintree, Essex.
She started her career as a nurse working in intensive care, mental health and learning disabilities.
A spokesman for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said Ms Ardley’s position was a ‘pivotal’ role.
He added: ‘We consider the cost of Ms Ardley’s appointment to be commensurate with the responsibilities of her role and in line with market expectations.’