Health bosses from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have spent more than £500,000 on strategies that could lead to the closure or downgrading of the area’s hospitals.
The Press Association used the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to ask clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) how much has been spent on management consultants to formulate the plans.
In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, £576,736 was spent – making it one of the top ten spending regions.
The consultants were tasked with formulating sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) in a bid to revolutionise services while saving money in the face of an expected £900 million NHS deficit this year.
One firm, Deloitte, received £472,601 from Hampshire STP bosses for “programme management and development”.
A further £63,960 was paid to MBI Health Consulting for “project management” work while MJMPR Consulting received £26,675 for “communications” work.
Consilium was paid £13,500 for “co-ordination and development” work.
Dr Mark Porter, pictured, chairman of the British Medical Association’s council, said: “It is outrageous that so much vital resources are being handed to consultancy firms for their part in delivering STPs which, ultimately, may never come to fruition.
Full story in Southern Daily Echo, 22 March 2017