HEALTH chiefs have come in for strong criticism after figures revealed nearly �9million was spent on management consultants in the last four years.

The expenditure – racked up by health trusts in Suffolk and north Essex – has been branded “disgraceful” and “inexcusable”.

The figures, obtained following a series of Freedom of Information requests, reveal NHS Suffolk was the highest spender with �2.6m, followed by Colchester Hospital with �1.8m and James Paget and West Suffolk hospitals with �1.4m each.

Suffolk MP Dan Poulter, a consultant gynaecologist, claimed the money should have been spent on frontline services and that patients had been short-changed.

But health trusts have hit back saying consultants are used only where specific experience, knowledge or skills are required that cannot be justifiably employed on a full-time basis.

Yet Dr Poulter asked why the outlay was necessary given there are 1,500 NHS managers nationally paid more than �150,000 a year.

“Quite frankly, it’s disgraceful,” he said. “We pay managers to manage and make decisions, we don’t pay them to bring in consultants.

“There’s no need, no excuse. You either have external consultants or you have people paid to make decisions.

“In my opinion this pinpoints where things are going wrong in the NHS, you have managers incapable of managing.

“There are no excuses for this and it’s something the Government wants to change by putting frontline professionals in charge of things like this.”

Health campaigner Prue Rush said: “There are some very highly-paid people working within the hospitals who should have the competence and wherewithal to look at these problems and sort them out. Otherwise why are they in these expensive positions?

“We do have management systems in place in our hospitals and if you have got good managers let them do their jobs.

“If they can’t cope that’s perhaps where there should be a bit of shuffling around.

“You can’t completely say they’re a waste of money but I think the money could be better used elsewhere.”