Almost £800k spent on wages of suspended Health staff

Friday 02 August 2024

Almost £800,000 has been spent on paying the wages of suspended Health staff over the last five years, it has emerged.

From 2019 to 2023, the Health Department spent £790,291 paying staff who had been suspended.

The figures were revealed in answer to a recent written question asked by Deputy Jonathan Renouf.

The cost each year has risen from around £78,000 in 2019, to over £200,000 in both 2022 and 2023.

Pictured: How much the Health Department has spent paying staff who have been suspended in each of the last five years.

Deputy Binet's answer also revealed that "there are no staff suspensions currently in Health and Community Services".

Express asked the Health Department to confirm how this could be the case when it has been made public that “Dr Y” – one of the two doctors at the centre of the damning rheumatology review – was banned from from all areas of clinical practice ahead of the Royal College of Physicians review, and has not returned to work since.

In response, Health explained that Dr Y is not suspended as a member of staff and can still undertake administrative duties.

In a statement, the department said: "We have previously indicated that Dr Y’s clinical practice is currently restricted, as a result of a recent General Medical Council hearing.

"This means he is not currently engaged in any clinical work. The details of Dr Y’s clinical restrictions are available on the GMC website. 

"However, Dr Y is not suspended as a member of staff and can undertake administrative duties."

A recent request was made under the Freedom of Information Law asking for the annual salary of Dr Y to be made public, as well as how much he had been paid since his clinical practice was restricted.

However, this information was denied under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 which protects the personal data of an individual.