NHS manager left £800,000 debts

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By Michele Paduano Health correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

An NHS manager who oversaw care for terminally ill cancer patients in Birmingham and part of Staffordshire left her organisation with debts of more than £800,000 after overspending on advertising, consultants and printing costs, it has been revealed.

Melanie Young had been working as the manager of the palliative care network, part of the Pan-Birmingham Cancer Network, which links together all the city's hospitals, trusts and hospices that provide cancer services.

Melanie Young left the network in September 2008

Her job involved overseeing all the services to make life better for patients with terminal cancer.

Ms Young was allowed to spend up to £5,000 each time without permission from her board, but she did not follow instructions and her actions were only found out when she left the job in September 2008.

As a result of the overspend, the cancer network was forced to shelve and postpone some projects, including a training scheme to make doctors communicate better with the parents of dying children.

A confidential report seen by the BBC showed that between 2007 and 2008, Ms Young had overspends of £63,000 on printing, £107,000 on advertising, £108,000 on hardware and £539,000 on consultancy.

The report does not say how much each budget limit was.

The document added that the financial black hole was only discovered a month after she left her position.

Investigations were started into a research contract with Warwick University and auditors CW Audit Services were called in to look at the situation.

It emerged Ms Young, who started work at the network in 2003, had signed a £221,000 contract which would allow academics to investigate how effective a health programme to deal with dying patients was.

Malmaison meal

However, that contract had never been put out to tender, which the auditors said breached European legislation.

It also emerged that Ms Young had only had a budget of £80,000 available for that research.

The awarding of that contract was also celebrated with a £308 meal at the Malmaison hotel in Birmingham, which was claimed back. Auditors said that amount was excessive.

It also emerged that a £40,000 photography project had also not been put out to tender.

After cancelling contracts and moving funding around, the cancer network found itself still in £693,000 of debt.

Occasionally, just occasionally, things go wrong Sandy Bradbrook, chairman of the Pan-Birmingham Cancer Network

Macmillan Cancer Support ended up stepping in to pay for clinical psychologists and rehabilitation services because of the lack of funds.

The report said that on her last day of employment with the network, Ms Young tried to transfer funds out of the cancer network into the accounts of the strategic health authority and Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust (PCT).

She has since moved to a new job as a senior commissioner for that PCT.

The Pan-Birmingham Cancer Network, which covers 1.6 million patients across Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth, said that although Ms Young had moved within the NHS it was not in its powers to discipline her.

Its chairman Sandy Bradbrook said he was "very disappointed" to find out about the budget overspends.

Disciplinary action

He added: "Clearly in the context of the NHS we are trying to run a good organisation at all times and that's why we set our systems up and set our governance arrangements up.

"Occasionally, just occasionally, things go wrong."

In a statement, the network added that no funds which had been assigned for direct patient care were affected by Ms Young's actions.

It added: "The network is continuing to make improvements to ensure the best value for money for palliative and cancer care, targeting support where it is most needed."

Ms Young has declined to comment on the situation, saying that she preferred all statements to come through her new employer.

A statement from the PCT said a review was going on at present to decide if any disciplinary action would be taken.

It said: "NHS Birmingham East and North has a robust framework of financial checks and safeguards to ensure that all members of staff work within standing financial instructions at all times."