NHS MANAGERS IN SOUTHAMPTON RISE BY 85% IN 4 YEARS (Southampton Liberal Democrats)

Southampton Liberal Democrats <info@southampton-libdems.org.uk>

NHS MANAGERS IN SOUTHAMPTON RISE BY 85% IN 4 YEARS

February 1, 2010 12:00 AM
Originally published by Sandra Gidley

NHS City MP and Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister, Sandra Gidley, has uncovered new figures which reveal that the numbers of managers in Southampton University Hospitals Trust has risen by 85% in the last four years, costing the taxpayer a minimum of £2.4 million.

The figures, which have come through a Parliamentary Question, show that the number of senior managers has risen by half in since 2004, while the number of junior managers has more than doubled.

Commenting today, Sandra said:

"Questions need to be answered as to why Southampton needs so many administrative managers - particularly as the hospital managed perfectly well without them.

"Unfortunately, Labour's micromanagement of the NHS and imposition of centrally driven targets by Whitehall mandarins has meant that more and more money has been spent on managers rather than on front line services.

"At a time when public services will be looking to tighten their belts, this money would surely be better spent on doctors, nurses, midwives or new technologies - anything that will really help patients - not on managers who ensure that Government targets are being met.

"I want to see the Health Service run locally, by locally elected health boards, which would be able to respond to local needs. The current culture of micromanagement from central government simply has to stop."

ENDS