Health chiefs have paid a lobbying firm nearly £18,000 of taxpayers’ money for advice on how to win awards.
NHS County Durham set up a ‘corporate improvement team’ which employed a firm called Awards Intelligence for tips on ways to ‘raise your profile and enhance your reputation’.
‘It shows how out of line things became, behind the scenes, with the
administration and bureaucracy of so many of our public services.’
Under the Government’s controversial NHS shake-up, PCTs will be axed next year and replaced with GP-led organisations that will buy health care from public and private bodies.
But the trust – now called NHS County Durham and Darlington, following a merger – defended the payments as a way to encourage staff to ‘increase quality, productivity and reduce costs’.
A spokesman for Awards Intelligence confirmed that the firm provided advice to NHS County Durham prior to its success in winning a Best Business Award.
He said: ‘This is a prestigious award, set up to highlight and reflect great
achievement in business and the public sector.
‘The awards are administered and marketed by Awards Intelligence, but the winners are selected by an independent panel of judges.’
NHS County Durham was also shortlisted for a second prize with Awards
Intelligence’s help, but the nature of that award was not revealed.
Awards Intelligence describes itself as the ‘world’s leading business awards and personal honours experts’, urging potential clients: ‘Receive the recognition you deserve.’
Last year it was revealed that the company had recruited Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, the ex-chief superintendent of Durham police, as its
non-executive chairman.
The story kicked off a storm, as three MBEs from the region accused the peer – a former president of the Police Superintendents’ Association – of bringing the honours system into disrepute.
Mary Hawgood, Ron Dickie and Alan Ribchester, all from Durham City, said
commercial lobbying was tarnishing the tradition.