Deloitte paid nearly £800,000 by North Cumbria Hospital Trust

DELOITTE HAS BEEN paid almost £800,000 by health bosses from the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust for its advisory services.

According to a Freedom of Information Act Deloitte has been working with the health care trusts on tightening up its finances, and assessments on how to improve certain strategies, News & Star reports.

The firm was paid £436,295 by the hospital trusts and billed a further £131,770, which currently remains unpaid. It was also paid £356,000 by the primary care trust.

Dr Mike Bewick, NHS Cumbria's medical director, said: "Health trusts are multi-million pound organisations that offer hundreds of services to the communities they serve. However, there is a limit to the specific professional expertise that is available within any NHS trust.

"It would be very expensive to permanently employ all the detailed experience and expertise NHS Cumbria might ever need. The short-term use of the right consultants is sometimes a cost-effective alternative.