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It has been reported widely that the NHS has spent an apparently massive amount on Consultants. The Independent for example reported thet “The NHS in England spent £313.9m on management consultants in the past financial year, figures released by the Government indicate.

The cost, which includes advice from architects, lawyers and surveyors, is almost the same as the amount spent on skin and lung cancer services combined.”

This seems like a shocking amount. The independent goes on to quote Dr Peter Carter, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing: “It is extremely difficult to see how spending more than £313m on consultancy services in one year can be justified.”

To those at the front line faced with the difficult day to day plate spinning of balancing a limited budget that spend on consultants should be redirected to direct care but is this view not a little blinkered. The “C” word is often used to paint professionals in a poor light. The “consultants” refered to include architects and accountants and surveyors without whose services there would be no hospitals to provide direct care for patients. There should of course be close scrutiny of NHS spend but let’s not pretend that the NHS infrastructure will build and maintain itself.