NHS bureaucrats
Labour spend £1.5 billion on extra NHS bureaucrats
Conservatives have spotlighted Labour's "wrong priorities" after it emerged that almost £1.5 billion of taxpayers money has been spent on recruiting thousands of additional bureaucrats to run the National Health Service.The latest NHS Workforce Survey reveals that the average annual rise in the number of managers between 1997 and 2004 totalled 2,222 - which equates to a total increase of 15,554 over the past seven years.
The survey also shows that the number of NHS staff working in central functions like clerical duties, administration and IT, increased by an average of 4,169 per year between 1997 and 2004 - equal to an overall leap of 29,183.Assuming that the average cost of employing an NHS manager or senior bureaucrat can be conservatively estimated at £45,000, and that the average wage costs of people manning NHS central services can be estimated at about £25,000, the total amount spent on administrators was £1.42 billion - close to £1.5 billion.
Pointing out that a similar sum could provide the health service with an extra 52,000 nurses, Shadow Health Minister Chris Grayling said: "These are quite startling figures. To be spending £1.5 billion extra on bureaucracy which could be spent on patient care, more beds or more nurses is quite extraordinary."He told conservatives.com: "If ever proof were needed that the Government has got the wrong priorities for the health service this is it. We could be doing so much more for this country if we pushed funding through to frontline services."
Conservatives have spotlighted Labour's "wrong priorities" after it emerged that almost £1.5 billion of taxpayers money has been spent on recruiting thousands of additional bureaucrats to run the National Health Service.The latest NHS Workforce Survey reveals that the average annual rise in the number of managers between 1997 and 2004 totalled 2,222 - which equates to a total increase of 15,554 over the past seven years.
The survey also shows that the number of NHS staff working in central functions like clerical duties, administration and IT, increased by an average of 4,169 per year between 1997 and 2004 - equal to an overall leap of 29,183.Assuming that the average cost of employing an NHS manager or senior bureaucrat can be conservatively estimated at £45,000, and that the average wage costs of people manning NHS central services can be estimated at about £25,000, the total amount spent on administrators was £1.42 billion - close to £1.5 billion.
Pointing out that a similar sum could provide the health service with an extra 52,000 nurses, Shadow Health Minister Chris Grayling said: "These are quite startling figures. To be spending £1.5 billion extra on bureaucracy which could be spent on patient care, more beds or more nurses is quite extraordinary."He told conservatives.com: "If ever proof were needed that the Government has got the wrong priorities for the health service this is it. We could be doing so much more for this country if we pushed funding through to frontline services."
posted by Carolyn @ 8:38 PM
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