HOSPITAL bosses in Worcestershire claimed more than £28,000 in expenses in a single year despite a multi-million black hole in the trust's finances, provoking anger among NHS staff.

In total the 24 directors of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust claimed £28,425 in 2015/16 for expenses which included mileage, taxi fares and hotels.

The trust has a planned deficit for the end of 2016/17 of £34.6 million and a year-to-date deficit of £10 million while the amount claimed by the trust's executive and non-executive directors is the equivalent of a salary for a fully qualified nurse who start on salaries of £21,692, rising to £28,180.

The Worcester News was contacted by members of staff at the trust who enclosed the document (which is publicly available) to highlight their concerns about expenses at a time when the trust is battling to plug a multi-million deficit.

We received a letter on Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS notepaper which read: "Myself and a number of colleagues employed by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are becoming more and more aggrieved by interim directors and the trust board members and the amount of money they are claiming."

The largest single claim was put in my Rab McEwan, the interim chief operating officer, who claimed £9,794 despite only taking up this position in June, two months into the financial year.

The interim director of finance, Rob Cooper, claimed £6,555 (£3,814 in business mileage, £115 in parking charges and £2,625 in hotel/accommodation costs).

Of the non-executive directors the biggest claimant was former chairman Harry Turner who claimed £4,988 in total.

Interim chief executive Chris Tidman claimed £3,034 in total. Non-executive director Julian Bion claimed £300 in taxi fares in a year.

Some directors, however, had no expenses recorded against their name.

Already this financial year (2016/17) directors have claimed £9,043 (as of June 30), just two months into the financial year.

Interim chief operating officer Rab McEwan and interim director of finance Rob Cooper are the biggest claimants, taking £2,889 and £3,440 respectively. Acting chairman John Burbeck claimed less than a tenth of this over the same period (£268).

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "At a time when every local hospital is having to make much-needed savings, hard-pressed taxpayers will be curious as to how some trust bosses have managed to rack up such large mileage claims.

"Of course some travel is going to be necessary in these roles, but there needs to be transparency about who is claiming for what if public and staff alike are to be confident that systems are not being exploited.

"At the end of the day, the more money that goes on expenses for the top brass, the less funding there is for frontline services, which surely ought to be everyone's priority."

A trust spokesman said: “Whilst we don’t comment on individual cases, our directors are expected to travel throughout the county and occasionally outside the county for work. Strict rules apply to travel claims and these are audited and approved prior to any payment.”