HEAD-hunting health bosses in Burnley have been condemned for offering £70,000 pay bait to lure consultant anaesthetists from other hospitals.

They have abandoned their stand not to be held to ransom by medics demanding over-the-rate salaries during the critical national shortage of the specialists.

The Health Trust, which advertised worldwide without success for anaesthetists, now says it will offer £70,000 salaries - £15,000 over the NHS going rate for consultants.

Health watchdog chairman Coun Frank Clifford accused the trust of entering into a "Dutch auction" on health care.

But Burnley Trust chairman Brian Foster defended the action, warning that operations at Burnley General Hospital would have been cancelled had bosses not agreed to provide big cash bait to attract anaesthetists. As health watchdogs condemned the climb down on premium payments, Mr Foster told them: "Principles are great, but if we had just stood by, we would have gone down the chute."

And he told the Community Health Council the policy change, brought about by the national shortage of consultant anaesthetists, was paying off.

He said the trust, which in the past has had to postpone operations because of the crisis, had recruited another locum and had received a number of applications.

He said the decision had the support of all consultants at Burnley because of the critical situation.

Mr Foster said the extra cash offers were only temporary and were not built into salaries forever.

But trust bosses came in for condemnation for the policy change.

CHC chairman Coun Frank Clifford said some anaesthetists were holding trusts to ransom because of the high number of vacancies in the speciality - 35 in the North West alone.

He said Burnley was right last year when it took a firm stand refusing to pay demands for £80,000 salaries when the going rate was £55,000 for a consultant in the speciality.

He told the meeting in Nelson town hall: "I am not happy with the situation.

"It is not right to pay extra to rob some other NHS area of a consultant."

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