Apology over extra pay for NHS board

THE new chief executive of a Cornish NHS trust has apologised to staff after four board directors were paid overtime for work during the peak of the Covid pandemic.

Matthew Patrick, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s (CPFT) new interim chief executive, told staff in a memo that the issue was “particularly sensitive when I know you have all been working so hard over the past year to keep people safe and well”.

Four board members of the trust – which oversees mental health care and community hospitals in Cornwall and is at the centre of governance investigations – were paid a “single flat rate payment” for extra hours performed during Easter 2020.

However, the “majority” of the four directors, who have not been named, did not request the payment and were notified of the transaction later, according to the trust.

Healthworkers’ journal HSJ has reported that the payments only came to light after several staff at CPFT used the Freedom To Speak Up process to blow the whistle about a “number of concerns” at the trust, according to the email to staff.

Details of the payments come after former chief executive Phil Confue stepped down amid external investigations into several governance and financial issues.

Dr Patrick said in the memo: “My understanding is that a single flat rate payment was made to four members of the board. The majority of these individuals, who did not request these payments, were notified at a later date.

“This was a one-off case and payments of this sort have not been made to board members either before or after.”

He said all the payments have been repaid in full.

Dr Patrick added the reviews carried out after the concerns were raised through Freedom To Speak Up highlighted “areas where we, as a board could have done better”.

He added: “I have spoken with all of my fellow board members and know that we are all sorry for this.”

The CEO acknowledged the issue around overtime payments was “particularly sensitive when I know you have all been working so hard over the past year to keep people safe and well”.

Dr Patrick, who began his staff email by saying “this past week has already felt like a long one”, added: “It’s fair to say that as a board we have work to do to put things right and that this work will take time.”