Mike Penning has condemned the West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust for spending over £300k on its Chief Executive.

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, has roundly condemned the West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust after learning that they spent £308,000 on the ‘salary, employee’s national insurance and superannuation contribution and benefits in kind’ for the secondment of Jan Filochowski as interim Chief Executive in the financial year 2008-09.

Mike said:
“This is not a personal attack on Mr Filochowski, but I am astounded that any civil servant is earning such a large sum of money – especially when services are being cut back and facilities closed down.

“At a time when the hospitals were being told to save on replacement light bulbs, it beggars belief that they were paying such a large sum for a Chief Executive.

“To be honest, it confirms all our worst fears about the NHS. Too much money being spent at the top – and not enough filtering down to those hardworking doctors and nurses in the front line.”

Mr Filochowski was made permanent Chief Executive of the Trust in August without the post being publicly advertised.