Top docs make up 99% of £100k plus club

The Sentinel reported two weeks ago how 920 staff paid 100,000 plus and a further 2,492 staff paid between 50,000 and 100,000 generate an annual wage bill of at least 216million.

The paper also revealed that 253 managers in the Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) alone are earning over 38,851 a year.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) said the figures should not be a surprise to anyone with the vast majority of the 100,000 plus recipients top doctors paid the going rate.

The figures were originally outlined by the Finance Minister Sammy Wilson in response to a query tabled by DUP MLA Jonathan Craig at the Stormont Assembly.

The Department of Health told the Sentinel 907 consultants are paid more than 100,000 whilst 460 consultants, 92 Associate specialists, 150 Staff grade doctors, 1,200 Speciality Registrars and 126 staff in occupational groups, nursing/social work and technical are paid between 50,000 and 99,000.

The spokesperson said the sums should not shock anyone.

"The figures in the response to Jonathan Craig should not be a surprise or shock to anyone - 99 per cent of the 917 staff whose pay costs more than 100,000 are senior Doctors who are employed on national rates of pay that are used throughout the NHS.

"The simple truth is over 100,000 is the rate for the job for highly skilled senior specialist clinicians, in whom the HSC has invested many years of specialist training and development, and on whom we all depend for life saving services and essential care.

"These figures must be set in the context of a 66,000 Health and Social Care (HSC) workforce. Some 2,500 (3.7 per cent) of the HSC workforce are paid between 50 and 100K and more than 2,000 of these are staff in medicine, nursing, social work and scientific grades essential to a modern high quality service.

"Only 1.3 per cent of HSC staff are paid in excess of 100k," the spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, eleven staff at agencies and 'arms length bodies' of the Departments of Justice and Regional Development also breach the 100,000 ceiling.

Eight similar staff at DEL; seven at OFMDFM; three at DSD; two at the Department of Education (DE) and at the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and one each at DfP, DETI and DCAL all receive a 100,000 salary.

Only at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the Department of Environment (DoE) are there no staff on more than 100,000 a year.

The revelations follow an Assembly research paper published last month which showed 253 Western Trust managers alone are earning over 38,851 a year.

The paper produced by Dr Janice Thompson and Helena Maginness revealed 152 managers in WHSCT are earning between 38,851 and 46,621; 62 between 45,254 and 55,945; 34 between 54,454 and 67,134; and 5 between 65,270 and 80,810.

None of these managers earned over 77,079 according to the research though a number of directors are in receipt of salaries in excess of that figure.