EIGHT health bosses received between £85,000 and £125,000 in bonuses last year, latest figures show.

Chief executive Sir Jonathan Michael received the biggest payout at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUHT) of between £35,000 and £40,000, down from £40,000 to £45,000 the previous year.

The trust only publishes bonuses in brackets of £5,000, meaning the total paid could be anywhere from £85,000 to £125,000.

Last year it was £105,000 to £145,000.

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They were for performance over the previous financial year, 2012/13, when the majority of their targets were met.

Further targets were missed last year but the amount paid in bonuses for 2013/14 will not be published until next year.

Trust chairwoman Dame Fiona Caldicott said: “The executive directors have performed extremely well during a period of unprecedented change in the NHS and the performance-related payments reflect the achievement of the team’s corporate objectives.”

She said the board was “particlarly pleased” with a good rating from its largest ever inspection by the Care Quality Commission (QCQ) in February. 

The CQC said Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital “requires improvement” with concerns like staff shortages, lack of beds and long waiting times. 

Conservative Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry said: “I think it is perfectly sensible that for such a large and complex organisation there should be performance-related pay for key people.” 

Staff who do not get automatic pay increases have this financial year got a one per cent increase. 
The minimum starting salary for a trust nurse is £21,388. 

Mark Ladbrooke, branch secretary for Unison Oxfordshire, said: “With a total salary of about £250,000, our chief executive gets paid the same as about 20 outsourced minimum wage cleaners, catering or portering staff. 

“The value of NHS pay is falling and the NHS is having huge difficulty recruiting staff in one of the most expensive areas of the country.” 

Royal College of Nursing spokeswoman Victoria Couling said payouts were “really disappointing”. 

She said: “The trust should use these funds to ensure that they pay enough for nurses to live in an expensive city like Oxford.” 

Unison and Unite workers last week voted for a national strike over pay on October 13 and were this week joined by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), its first ever. 

Healthwatch Oxfordshire watchdog chief executive Rachel Coney said: “Patients will be concerned to see the awarding of performance-related pay bonuses to executives when nearly 50 per cent of the basic NHS constitution pledges on access are reported as being not met, and some long-standing issues – such as delayed transfers of care – show little sign of improvement.” 

The trust also runs Oxford’s Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and Banbury's Horton General.

Who got what

Salary and performance-related pay for 2013-14

Sir Jonathan Michael, chief executive: £215,000-£220,000; £35,000-£40,000 

Mark Mansfield, director of finance and procurement: £150,000-£155,000; £10,000-£15,000 

Elaine Strachan-Hall, chief nurse: £125,000-£130,000; £5,000-£10,000 

Andrew Stevens, director of planning and information: £110,000-£115,000; £5,000-£10,000 

Paul Brennan, director of clinical services: £140,000-£145,000; £10,000-£15,000 

Sue Donaldson, director of human resources: £60,000-£65,000; £5,000-£10,000 

Mark Trumper, director of development and the estate: £125,000-£130,000; £10,000-£15,000 

Eileen Walsh, director of assurance: £115,000-£120,000; £5,000-£10,000

Targets

Achieved

 ‘Embed the trust’s new values into every day action’ 

 ‘Maintain a focus on patient safety’

Maintain and improve national access targets (not achieved for A&E and test waits in one of four quarters of the year). 

Improve the quality of services.

Meet milestones towards foundation trust status. 

Develop financial systems to meet foundation trust standards. 

Increase productivity and achieve savings targets. 

Meet objectives for trauma, vascular, stroke and neonatal care. 

Designation as an Academic Health Science Network.

Missed

Reduce bed-blocking (‘delayed transfers of care’)

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