The Guardian has revealed that over the course of the last year, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities across Britain have spent £300 million on management consultancy fees.

This exorbitant figure is almost equivalent to that which was put aside for skin and lung cancer services combined, and is enough to cover the salaries of 10,000 nurses.

In London alone, £114 million of tax payer’s money was used to fund the fees of management consultants, some of whom charge in excess of £1,000 a day.

More startling yet – this sum is twice the amount that has been spent in previous years and many would argue that resultant improvements do not begin to justify such an increase in spending.

Despite health secretary, Andrew Lansley having now told health trusts to cut their management costs almost in half over the coming years – stating that “Every penny saved will be reinvested in improving patient care, meeting demand and driving up quality,” (The Guardian) there is little doubt that much of the British population will still be left reeling over the excessive amount of money that they have already unwittingly spent on a ‘wasteful’ consultancy bill.

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