NHS chief executive faces backlash after splashing out on fishing boat
Shaun Clee, chief executive of the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, is facing a public backlash after splashing out on a boat at a time when many of his employees are faced with potential pay cuts.
Clee wrote on Twitter that he’d been out for a boat test at St Austell and decided to buy the Raider Boats 16 Cuddy.
Some of his staff were reportedly offended by his tweet, which read: “Round trip to St Austell, sea trial resulted in new boat – oops!”
“At a time when NHS staff are being told their pay and conditions are under attack, it is outrageous that management can behave in this way,” said Chris Moore, co-ordinator for local campaign group Stroud Against the Cuts. “It shows a complete arrogance of management.”
Helen Hancox, regional officer for the Royal College of Nursing South West, pointed out that Clee has every right to spend his income how he wishes. But she told The Independent that she also found Clee’s decision to tweet about the purchase “unpalatable”, accusing him of gloating.
A statement by the trust described Clee’s timing of his comments as “regrettable”.
