TOP managers in a Hampshire hospital trust have received pay rises of up to 18 per cent while nurses have had a pay freeze, the Daily Echo can reveal.

One senior boss got a pay rise of £35,000 while others received hikes of £25,000 and £15,000 in 2012-13.

The dramatic rises come at a time when most public sector pay was frozen last year and capped at just one per cent this year.

And now one union boss has described the hikes as “shocking”.

The pay details are contained in the latest annual accounts which reveal boardroom pay at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs hospitals in Winchester, Basingstoke and Andover.

The trust’s annual report said the figures reflected the merger of Winchester and Basingstoke hospital trusts, which meant bosses had to take on more responsibilities for a bigger, more complex organisation.

And a remuneration committee set the pay after comparing sums paid to senior managers at other similarsized bodies.

Four executive directors received pay rises between 10 per cent and 18 per cent.

Caroline Villiers, regional organiser for Unison, which represents hospital nurses, cleaners and caterers, described the top manager pay rises as “shocking”.

She said: “Unison would have hoped directors would have shown more restraint.

Staff have also worked hard to bring the new trust into a good position and they were rewarded with a pay freeze.

“The merger has not been easy for staff who have had to work across sites and see posts deleted. It has been an unsettling time and this is not going to lift the current low staff morale.”

She added: “We would have preferred to see the money spent on vital services for the public or additional posts.”

The highest-earning executive director is Dr Andrew Bishop, medical director, whose pay band is now £225,000-£230,000.

This is 8.8 times the average salary at the trust.

Dr Bishop got a £35,000 or 18 per cent rise – his pay was £190,000-£195,000 in 2011-12.

Chief executive Mary Edwards was meanwhile handed a £25,000 pay rise, to bring her total pay to £190- £195,000.

David French, chief finance officer, also received a £25,000 pay rise. His salary band is now £155,000-£160,000.

And Donna Green, director of nursing and chief operating officer, saw her pay increase by £15,000 to £155,000-£160,000.

Increases of £5,000 were also given to part-time non-executive directors, taking their pay to £15,000-£20,000.

But Elizabeth Padmore, chairman, saw her salary band increase by £15,000 from £35,000-£40,000 to £50,000- £65,000.

However, overall executive director costs fell from £1m in 2012 to £713,000 in 2013 as two boards merged into one and there are now fewer directors on six-figure salaries.

The figures also show the highest-paid employee was an unnamed medical consultant who was not on the board who took home £371,000 in 2012-13.

The trust is the result of a 2012 takeover by Basingstoke Hospital Foundation Trust, with Mary Edwards at the helm, of Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust.

Ms Edwards, who joined the NHS as a nurse in 1978, subsequently took charge of three Hampshire hospitals in Winchester, Andover and Basingstoke, employing around 5,000 people with a £300m budget.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief nurse and chief operating officer Donna Green said: “Executive directors’ pay is set by the non-executive directors who make up the Remuneration Committee.

“The Remuneration Committee set the executive directors’ pay in January 2012 when HHFT was created; they took into account the significantly increased responsibilities of running a large, complex organisation with a turnover of more than £320m and employing 5,000 staff.

“They also used comparative data for organisations of similar size and complexity to ensure the pay rates were in line with comparable roles. Executive directors’ pay has not increased since then.

“We believe our Executive Directors pay is in line with other comparable public sector organisations.”