Trust’s £2.8m spend on management consultants is ‘making a mockery of health service’

The Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust which runs the Rochdale Infirmary has spent a further £277,151.21 with top management consultancy firm Ernst and Young – bringing their total spend in less than 12 months to over £2.8m.

The Trust is in the process of trying to save £43m and in the past has said that spending money upfront with the management consultants will enable them to make savings in the long term.

Since December 2010 the Trust has spent £2,822,643.01 with Ernst and Young.

Councillor Jean Ashworth who has fought a long and hard campaign for Rochdale Infirmary condemned the figures. She said: “They are making a mockery of the health service.

“This money is not to spend on consultants it’s for patient care and the patients are not getting the treatment they deserve – this is not the way to run an organisation!”

The Trust’s quality improvement and efficiency programme is called Transforming for Excellence (TFE). Councillor Ashworth, questioned: “Does TFE stand for transferring funds to Ernst and Young?”

Break down of Trust spend with Ernst and Young: 

• October 2011 - £277,151.21
• September 2011 - £640,876.80
• August 2011 - £663,615
• April 2011 - £376,000
• March 2011 - £765,000
• December 2010 - £100,000 

A spokesperson for the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, said: “Transforming for Excellence (TfE) is our quality improvement and efficiency programme to maintain services through this economic downturn and achieve the necessary cost efficiency savings required.

“Like many public bodies such as local councils and other NHS Trusts we believe it is sometimes necessary to enlist the support and advice of management consultancy experts for a short term to work alongside our staff to identify where we can transform our services to improve patient care and in turn make the necessary savings.

“Using management consultants means that we can get the extra support and skills we need for specific periods of time without the added cost of hiring additional permanent staff.

“The TfE programme has helped the Trust make huge savings, enabling the Trust’s income and expenditure to balance last year.

“The target is to achieve £43.3 million cost improvements this year in 2011/12. As of the end of September 2011, £37.2m of approved schemes have been identified.

“By working alongside Ernst and Young, our own staff are developing the skills necessary to run our own cost efficiency programmes in the future.

“This is not a resource we will be committing to use on a permanent basis."