NHS bosses at England’s 10 worst-performing hospitals are all pocketing salaries higher than the Prime Minister’s, a damning analysis has revealed.

Despite failing to bring down waiting lists, the CEOs at the 10 NHS hospital trusts banked salaries of more than £200,000 last year. 

By comparison, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is paid a salary of £172,000. MPs get an annual basic salary of £93,000.

The government released a league table yesterday ranking the performance of all 134 NHS trusts in England, marking the first time this information has been made public. This allows patients to identify which trusts provide inadequate care.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged to hold accountable the chief executives of underperforming trusts, insisting he wants them feeling pressured to improve.

Senior managers at those which are persistently ranked poorly could be sacked or see their pay docked. 

According to the rankings, Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust was the poorest performing large hospital, with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust close behind.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn and Countess Of Chester Hospital, where serial baby killer Lucy Letby had worked, were also listed among the bottom ten.

The Times analysis revealed that among the ten lowest-ranking hospitals, the highest-paid chief executive was Professor Andrew Hardy, earning between £275,000 and £280,000.

He took on the role at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in 2010. The trust was ranked third-worst in the country. 

Other notable high-earners include Jonathan Brotherton, who became chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in July 2023, a trust ranked 128th out of 134.

His salary was reported by the trust as between £260,000 and £265,000, with another £165,000 to £167,500 contributed towards his pension, the Times said.

Jane Tomkinson, meanwhile, was appointed chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital in February 2024, after initially joining as acting chief executive in December 2022. 

As acting chief executive, she earned £115,000 to £120,000 between April 2023 and January 2024, documents showed.

Between February 2024 when she took on the permanent role and the end of the financial year in March 2024, she earned £35,000 to £40,000. 

From this, The Times estimated her annual salary as between £210,000 and £240,000.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is paid a salary of £172,000. MPs get an annual basic salary of £93,000

Maggie Oldham took on the CEO role at Blackpool Teaching Hospital Trust in 2024. According to the league table, the trust is ranked 125th out of 134. 

While her salary is not yet publicly available, her predecessor, Patricia Armstrong Child, earned between £225,000 and £230,000, according to the trust’s annual report.

Yesterday, it was revealed police are now investigating potential corporate failings contributing to the death, ill-treatment or neglect of patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s stroke unit, which sits within Blackpool Teaching Hospital Trust. 

Offences under consideration by Lancashire Police include corporate manslaughter, corporate ill-treatment and wilful neglect.

The investigation was initially launched in October 2023 after the prosecution of five health care workers for a number of drug offences, with two of them jailed for sedating or conspiring to sedate patients to keep them quiet.

The Government-backed league tables score NHS trusts on seven different areas including waiting times for operations, cancer treatment, time spent in A&E and ambulance response times.

Their finances are also assessed, meaning a hospital rated highly for clinical care will be marked down if they are running up a larger than expected deficit.

They were published after an annual report by NHS regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found that corridor care had become a ‘regrettable reality’ in hospitals and people’s health had deteriorated while they waited months for treatment. 

Health secretary Wes Streeting vowed to hold the chief executives of poor performers accountable, claiming he wants them ‘looking over their shoulders’

Patient groups welcomed the publication of the league tables but hospital trust bosses warned there was a danger staff could be used as ‘instruments of blame’. 

Mr Streeting, however, told the Daily Mail: ‘Trusts with the greatest challenges must accept more scrutiny and targeted support to identify weaknesses and strengthen their game.

‘Today’s reforms are about driving better performance and delivering better value.  

‘Patients and taxpayers have been left in the dark about whether local services are delivering or failing. 

‘With no accountability, success has gone unrewarded and there have been no consequences for failure.’

He added: ‘A patient at Countess of Chester shouldn’t have to wait months longer for treatment than one in Northumbria. 

‘That is the postcode lottery I’m determined to tackle, by raising standards across the board.’