NHS in another costly redundancy merry-go-round
HEALTH chiefs are hiring hundreds of civil servants even as they make hundreds of others redundant, ministers have admitted.
In January, the Department of Health (DoH) said 538 employees would take voluntary redundancy in the coming months, as part of efforts to reduce its running costs.
But now David Mowat, the health minister, has revealed plans to hire an extra 340 civil servants.
In total, £30 million will be spent on redundancies in 2016-17, the department said, with the majority paying for voluntary redundancies.
Critics last night rounded on the Government, accusing ministers of embarking on a costly and wasteful exercise, at a time when money is short.
Almost £2 billion has been spent on NHS redundancies since 2010, with more than 5,000 exit deals paid out last year. Latest figures show that, in the past three years, more than 1,000 civil servants and senior NHS officials have received exit payments of at least £100,000, with 165 receiving at least £200,000.
The 538 redundancies include senior positions, including 36 posts of “deputy director” at the department.
Katherine Murphy, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said the strategy made “no sense” and would waste much-needed resources. “The cost of redundancies and of recruiting new staff is time-consuming and costly,” she said, urging the DoH to focus its efforts on making sure there were enough front-line staff.
The disclosure, reported in the Health Service Journal, follows disclosures in yesterday’s Telegraph that more than 600 NHS quango chiefs are now on six- figure salaries.
The number earning more than the Prime Minister’s £149,400 salary has doubled in just three years. In 2010, the Conservatives pledged to reduce spending on NHS bureaucracy. A major reorganisation of the health service reduced administrative costs, but has resulted in almost £2 billion being spent on redundancies.
At the height of the restructuring, more than £90million was spent on redundancy to officials who were immediately rehired, sparking accusations of a “merry-go-round of waste”.
One married couple received a com- bined settlement of almost £1 million before finding new jobs at NHS trusts.
The latest restructuring will see the DoH move offices, with staff moving from three offices on to one site.
A DoH spokesman said: “The Department has been redesigned to make sure it is fit for purpose.
“We are continuing to cut running costs and are recruiting new staff with the right skills to effectively lead the health and care system as it addresses the challenges of the future.”