NHS chief defends £200,000 salaries

Sir David Nicholson defended salaries that can top £200,000 a year and urged people to stop “denigrating” health service managers. He also blamed politicians for hefty redundancy payouts, saying constant reorganisation caused “turbulence”.

The comments came as the outgoing NHS chief executive gave evidence to MPs on the health select committee.

Sir David was asked about remarks by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, who suggested significant salaries were needed to attract managers of “the right calibre”.

He declined to endorse Sir Bruce’s words, but stressed that the health service was going through “transformational change” and required “top-drawer people”.

Sir David – who earns £210,000 – said it was wrong to scapegoat those high earners. “If you constantly denigrate and criticise them, it’s hardly surprising they respond to that,” he said. “They are amongst the most complex and difficult jobs in the world.”