Walsall NHS Trust STILL chasing thousands of pounds it overpaid to staff

Between 2012 and 2015, the Trust overpaid £172,536.49 to staff who had left the trust.

But the Trust has only reclaimed £127,104.09, meaning the Trust is £45,432.40 out of pocket.

The Trust has been slammed for the admin error, with it being claimed that the lost money could be the difference between getting new services or equipment or not for the failing trust.

Councillor Mike Bird, the leader of Walsall Council, who has been outspoken on Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and the Manor Hospital in the past, said the Trust should be 'doing everything possible' to recover the money and has asked for the money not to be written off.

He said: "They have a duty to recover the money by law as it is public money. They should be doing everything possible to recover it. My suggestion is that they look at different ways of collecting the money, I really hope they are not thinking about writing it off.

"The money could be spent on services although I do not know the circumstances around it. But it has to be collected.

"That money could be difference between getting a new service or piece of equipment and not getting it."

For the last financial year, 2014/15, £35,903.06 was overpaid to staff who had left the Trust. Of this, £33,406.31 has been reclaimed so far – some 93 per cent.

But the figure is significantly worse for the previous two years.

In 2013/14 the Trust overpaid £73,949.55, but only £54,566.96 has been reclaimed. This is only 74 per cent and leaves some £19,382.59 unclaimed.

In 2012/13 the Trust overpaid £62,683.88 and has only claimed back some £39,130.82 – only 62 per cent. This means £23,533.06 in overpayments to departed staff remains unclaimed since 2012.