University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust pays temporary consultant £100,000 for three months’ work

An NHS trust has been criticised for paying a consultant £100,000 for three months’ work.

MP Alan Duncan hit out at Derek Smith’s £1,500-per-day salary as temporary chief executive of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

Smith was appointed after former chief executive Peter Reading – said to have been on £180,000 per year – left in the wake of a failed project to rebuild the city’s hospitals.

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Duncan, Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, told the Leicester Mercury: “It’s a total shambles. Money is going on short-term consultants rather than on proper patient care.”

The trust insisted Smith’s salary was justified by the demands of his job.