NHS spends £40m a year on diversity staff – enough for an extra 1,200 nurses
NHS bosses are spending about £40million a year on diversity and inclusion staff.
The huge sum of taxpayer cash could instead pay for 1.3million GP appointments or hire an extra 1,200 nurses.
Data shows there are more than 800 “diversity officers”.
The average NHS trust has three, each on a salary of £47,000 — although those in senior positions can pull in much more.
One integrated board recently advertised a senior equality, diversity and inclusion manager on £70,000.
Freedom of information requests went to all 223 NHS trusts, 42 integrated care boards and NHS England asking for the total number of diversity officers and their pay.
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Projections based on those that responded suggest the NHS as a whole spends £40.7million on 812 staff.
Campaigner John O’Connell, chief executive of campaign group The TaxPayers’ Alliance, told The Sun: “Taxpayers are losing patience with these right-on roles in the health service.
“Bossy bureaucrats are guilty of picking the pockets of working Brits to fund diversity demagogues instead of nurses and doctors.
“Health chiefs should focus precious resources on frontline services.”
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Some NHS trusts have been accused of becoming too PC, including referring to “birthing people” rather than mothers.
The spending figures come as the NHS lurches towards a gruelling winter when an influx of patients is expected to swamp hospitals and GPs.
This week the backlog of people waiting for an appointment rose to seven million for the first time.
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Health Secretary Therese Coffey has drawn up a target for all patients to be seen by a GP within two weeks.
She also wants to slash ambulance arrival times as part of her push to get people treated faster.
An NHS spokesperson said: “While it is down to individual NHS Trusts to decide how they best they support their own staff, this story ignores the fact that NHS England is working to reduce the number of job posts by 30-40 per cent - the NHS is also one of the most efficient health services in the world, spending a far lower proportion on administration costs than comparable countries.”