NHS bosses offered £100k to quit their trust jobs

As part of a national resignation scheme approved by ministers NHS trusts across the country have been writing to senior staff offering them a lump-sum pay-off.

The most senior officials will receive an average of £100,000 while chief executives could trouser an average of £137,500.

Under the coalition's Liberating the NHS white paper reforms all 152 primary care trusts and 10 strategic health authorities will be scrapped, with 60,000 managers' jobs on the line.

It is thought some compulsory redundancies could be prevented via the payoffs as the NHS strives to save billion of pounds and move towards the abolition of PCTs as set out in the white paper.

The offer is open for six weeks only, while some managers who choose not to take up the offer could still claim up to two years' pay under existing NHS redundancy contracts.

John Lister of campaign group Health Emergency said: "This approved scheme just proves how arrogant this government is by giving the message that its reforms have already been rubber-stamped.

"The fact is it is seriously premature when you consider that, aside from it being early days in the parliamentary process, it has yet to be put through proper consultation and has a legal challenge from Unison hanging over its head."

He added that the huge sums being offered would be better spent on high-quality health care.

Chief executive of the union for healthcare managers Managers In Partnership Jon Restell added that the scheme was unlikely to prove popular.