A new row has broken out over funding in the NHS after a top manager reportedly walked off with a severance package worth almost £900,000.
David Johnson, the former head of the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority, was one of around 70 staff who left the service when it was abolished as part of a reorganisation last year.
Those who took redundancy following the move received around £24,725, and those who took early retirement got £48,191.
But Mr Johnson, 50, is believed to have been awarded a package worth £899,810, including his pension pot.
Conservative Scarborough & Whitby MP Robert Goodwill said: “Most people will look at this and say this is a lottery win rather than a payout. It’s out of all proportion.”
He went on to criticise the contract Mr Johnson was given and the numerous revamps of the NHS which led to the job losses.
He said: “I think we’ve had eight reorganisations in 10 years. It seems like we have a restructuring annually.
“You would think that whoever draws up these contracts would think about this.”
A spokesman for the new Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority, which was created by the merger, said: “To achieve the efficiency targets a programme was undertaken to reduce workforce numbers, including a recruitment freeze and redeployment of staff within the NHS.
A number of compulsory redundancies and early retirements formed part of this programme.”
Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority
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