HOSPITAL chiefs have been criticised for “hiding in secrecy” over why executives pocketed bonuses of up to £180,000.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust said bonuses of up to £60,000 were paid to bosses who met “individual and corporate objectives”.

But a spokesman said: “We are not able to go into specific details of why each board member received a bonus.

“The specific details are confidential to the individuals concerned.”

Nine bosses got a total £135,000 to £180,000 in bonuses for 2011/12 despite a two-year staff pay freeze and criticism of “bed blocking”.

Exact bonuses figures are not available as the trust will only provide sums in bands of £5,000.

Chief executive Sir Jonathan Michael got £30,000 to £35,000 while medical director Prof Edward Baker got £55,000 to £60,000.

Oxford East Labour MP Andrew Smith said: “The trust needs to make clear how and why they are justified, and what if any bonuses have been paid more recently.”

Jacqueline Pearce-Gervis, of Oxfordshire-based campaign group Patient Voice, said: “I’m sure they deserved the bonuses but it is public money and the public should be told the reasons.”

TaxPayers’ Alliance Robert Oxley said: “Health bosses should be up front about what they are paying staff instead of hiding it in secrecy.

“Otherwise taxpayers have no way of scrutinising how their money is spent and the danger is that any payment will appear unjustified.”

The Royal College of Nursing said the bonuses were “very disheartening” to nurses while The Royal College of Midwives branded them a “slap in the face” to staff.

The bonuses were awarded the same year Sir Jonathan outlined plans to cut the trust’s budget by £49m.

This included £2.5m in job cuts, including compulsory redundancies, and £3.2m from changes to nursing rotas on adult wards in 2012/13.

A trust spokesman said bonus decisions were made by a committee of its non-executive directors – Prof Sir John Bell, Alisdair Cameron, Christopher Goard, Geoffrey Salt, Anne Tutt and Peter Ward.

She said: “In response to the fact that directors achieved individual objectives, and delivered the majority of the corporate objectives for the financial year 2011/12, the committee awarded performance related non-recurrent bonuses in line with contracts of employment.”

While it met headline waiting time targets in 2011/12, the trust missed a target to cut down on bed blocking. The trust awarded no executive basic pay increases in 2012/13 or this year, 2013/14. It refused to give details of bonuses for 2012/13.

Conservative Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry said: “Clearly any public body has got to justify the payments it makes to its staff.

“But trusts are multi-million pound businesses and the need to get the best possible people will inevitably affect wages levels”.

County Conservative MPs Nicola Blackwood and David Cameron were unavailable for comment due to the Parliamentary recess. Henley MP John Howell declined to comment.

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust – from which two members got bonuses – merged with the hospital trust in November 2011. They are no longer on the trust board.

But two of the directors who got bonuses – Sir Jonathan and Andrew Stevens – took pay rises in the same year of up to £10,000 each.

WHO GOT WHAT (ROUGHLY).

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust:

  • Sir Jonathan Michael, Chief Executive: Salary: £215,000-£220,000. Bonus: £30,000-£35,000.
  • Mark Mansfield, Director of Finance and Procurement: Salary: £140,000-£145,000. Bonus: £10,000-£15,000.
  • Elaine Strachan-Hall, Chief Nurse: Salary: £105,000-110,000. Bonus: £5,000-£10,000.
  • Andrew Stevens, Director of Planning and Information: Salary: £110,000-£115,000. Bonus: £5,000-£10,000.
  • Paul Brennan, Director of Clinical Services: Salary: £140,000-145,000. Bonus: £5,000-£10,000.
  • Sue Donaldson, Director of Human Resources: Salary: £100,000-105,000. Bonus: £5,000-£10,000.
  • Prof Edward Baker, Medical Director: Salary: £160,000-£165,000. Bonus: £55,000-£60,000.

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford:

  • Jan Fowler, Chief Executive: Salary: £65,000-£70,000. Bonus: £0-£5,000.
  • Dr Tony Berendt, Medical Director: Salary: £40,000-£45,000. Bonus: £20,000-£25,000.