Highly paid hospital chiefs remained on payroll months after they left

The local hospitals trust kept two highly paid officials on its payroll months after they left the organisation, it has been revealed.

Former chief executive Louise Barnett left The Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals Trust (SaTH) in September 2024 and former director of nursing Hayley Flavell left her position on January 1, 2025.

But SaTH’s annual report, published in time for its annual meeting next week, has revealed that both women remained on the organisation’s payroll until at least the end of the financial year.

Both top officials were on six-figure total packages, with Mrs Barnett raking in between £485,000 and £490,000 over the last 12 months, while Ms Flavell was on a total package of between £175,000 and £180,000.

Over the last three years official documents show that Mrs Barnett’s salary increased by £75,000 (35.7 per cent) from between £210,000 and £215,000 in 2022-23 to £285,000-£290,000 in 2024-25. 

“I think many people, especially hard working NHS staff, will find an employment package of £485,000 for the financial year 2024- 25 very generous, especially bearing in mind that Mrs Barnett resigned and left SaTH half way during the financial year 2024 / 25,” said health campaigner David Sandbach.

Mr Sandbach, a former chief executive at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital added: “The 35.7 per cent increase in CEO salary between 2022 -23 and 2024 is also remarkable give the level of pay increases NHS staff have had over this same period plus the fact that the SaTH Board has been in special NHSE oversight measures for quite a number of years.”

Mr Sandbach added: “It is common knowledge that SaTH has been named by NHS England as one of the worst performing hospital trusts in England. I am sure people in the county will wonder why abject management failure has been rewarded on such a massive scale.”

Mr Sandbach has already written to Andrew Morgan, the chair in common at SaTH, in advance of its annual meeting next week. He has also this week written to council leaders, and all the county’s MPs.

A spokesperson for SaTH said: “We follow a robust process ensuring that all pay remains in line with contractual guidance.

“We cannot comment further on individual cases.”

The trust’s annual report says that Mrs Barnett left SaTH on September 13, 2024 but “remained employed by the trust for the remainder of the financial year working with a linked organisation.”

It added that “it should be noted that the total remuneration for 2024/25 includes elements of pay relating to prior years that were paid in 2024/25, and the associated pension impact.”

The name of the linked organisation that Mrs Barnett went to work for was not revealed at the time she left SaTH or in the annual report.

She left SaTH after leading it through covid, the Independent Review of Maternity Services and the approvals process of the Hospitals Transformation Programme.

Ms Flavell left the trust to work for the Florence Nightingale Foundation – a charity supporting nurses and midwives.

SaTH also considered the Florence Nightingale Foundation to be a “linked organisation” with her remaining employed by SaTH.

Ms Flavell joined Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust as interim Chief Nursing Officer in September 2025.