NHS executive salaries rocket during 'squeeze'

The head of the NHS in England received a huge pay rise of up to 32 per cent at the same time as presiding over a below-inflation pay deal for nurses. Ministers face accusations of allowing the budget for senior NHS managers to almost treble in the past three years, from £1.2m to over £3.4m.

David Nicholson, who became NHS chief executive in 2006, earned the equivalent of between £195,000 and £200,000 in that financial year. His salary rose to £215,000 to £220,000 in 2007-08 – a rise of between 7.5 per cent and 12.8 per cent. In addition he received £37,600 in a second homes allowance, bringing his total pay package to a maximum of £257,600, an increase of between 26 and 32 per cent on the previous year.

Clare Chapman was recruited as NHS director general of workforce on a salary of £205,000 to £210,000 in 2006. Her pay increased to £245,000 to £250,000 this year, a rise of up to 20 per cent. And Christine Beasley, the chief nursing officer, saw an increase from £145,000 to £150,000 to £155,000 to £160,000 – a rise of up to 10 per cent.

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In the same period nurses were forced to accept a below-inflation 1.9 per cent rise as Mr Nicholson set out plans to "squeeze the pay bill in the NHS".

Since 2004-05, the salary bill for the NHS management board has soared from between £1.19m and £1.23m to between £3.44m and £3.56m this financial year, reflecting an increase in its membership from eight to 24 people.

Stephen O'Brien, the shadow Health minister, said: "New Labour have presided over a culture of soaring salaries for top civil servants as frontline staff have been squeezed. There seems to be one rule for hard-working nurses, and quite another for top bureaucrats at the Department of Health. Is it not hypocritical of civil servants to award themselves pay rises like this while telling the nurses who serve our NHS so diligently that they must accept an effective pay cut?"

A spokesman for Unison, which represents 400,000 nurses, porters and NHS administrative staff, said: "It's grossly unjust that the lowest paid in the NHS have to bear the brunt of a public sector pay policy. It's a shabby way to treat nurses, paramedics, porters, cleaners and other workers."

A Department of Health spokesman said Mr Nicholson, Ms Chapman and Ms Beasley received basic rises of between 2 per cent and 3.5 per cent, plus performance-related bonuses.

A departmental source said Mr Nicholson had helped to turn an £800m NHS deficit into a£1bn surplus and that its senior managers could earn far more in private industry.

The NHS budget has doubled in the past five years, from £45bn to £90bn, the fastest growth in its history. While some NHS workers have enjoyed a pay bonanza, it has not been spread evenly. The biggest rises have gone to doctors, with senior GPs who run their own practices enjoying rises of 58 per cent on average in the three years from 2003 – an average income of £113,614.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee said last month that practice nurses in GP surgeries had only had "inflationary rises" of 3.2 per cent.

Hospital consultants have seen similar rises to around £115,000. The number of NHS staff has risen, with better hospitals, shorter waiting times, fewer heart and cancer deaths and better mental health care. But the number of patients admitted per consultant fell by 20 per cent between 2000 and 2006.

David Nicholson: The man who runs the NHS

David Nicholson has been the chief executive of the NHS since 2006, but his involvement began more than 30 years ago. A former member of the Communist Party and a passionate Nottingham Forest supporter, he is the archetypal working class lad made good who held executive roles at NHS health trusts all over the country before accepting the highest position.

During his first decade at the NHS, he worked mainly in Yorkshire in the field of mental health, where he was involved in the closure of the county's ageing mental asylums. In 1988 he became chief executive of Doncaster Royal Infirmary, one of the first NHS trusts to break free from government control under Margaret Thatcher's reform policies. Mr Nicholson's other roles included being chief executive of numerous strategic health authorities, including Birmingham and Black Country, West Midlands South and Shropshire and Staffordshire.

In 2004, he was appointed CBE for his services to the NHS. When he was brought in to lead the service two years ago, it was his fifth change of job in 12 months. His current position puts him in charge of a £90bn budget and more than 1.3 million NHS employees.