THE rehiring of consultant Basil Fozard on £150,000 after he had retired from Royal Bournemouth Hospital was 'stitched up' in advance, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Details of the pay of senior management and board members of the hospital contained in the latest annual report and accounts say that Mr Fozard "will retire in June" and begin to draw on his pension fund of £1.9m.

He "will then rejoin the Trust as Medical Director and will be paid a salary for this role".

The previous postholder, Mary Armitage, retired from her post as Medical Director on September 6, 2013, according to the same document.

Her income from the role that year was £50,000 to £55,000, plus a further £35,000 to £40,000 as a medical consultant.

Mr Fozard was hired as Medical Director a month later and took home £70,00 - £75,000 for the rest of the year.

In 2013/14 his salary was £130,000 to £135,000 for the directorship - plus £85,000 to £90,000 as a medical consultant.

One senior member of staff at RBH said frontline workers were "incensed" at the revelations.

He told the Daily Echo: "They cannot believe the arrogance of the management.

"Here we are with a huge deficit and people on the shop floor are in danger of losing their jobs because savings will have to be made."

He added: "This whole thing is unbelievable. This information is buried in the annual report."

The Trust is currently under review by regulator Monitor after racking up a deficit of £5.2 million in the 2014/15 financial year.

The health watchdog has requested further information on "multiple breaches of accident and emergency and cancer waiting time targets" and a "deterioration" in the Trust's finances, and may launch a full investigation if the answers it receives are unsatisfactory.

Deficit figures for this year are not yet available but are expected to be worse for many foundation trusts across England and Wales.

MPs Conor Burns, for Bournemouth West, and Christopher Chope, for Christchurch, have both called on the Trust's directors to explain why they approved the appointment.

The Trust's council of governors, to whom the directors are accountable, was due to hold a meeting yesterday to discuss the situation.

In a statement released yesterday, the Trust said the meeting was "previously planned" as a debriefing following the July 31 board meeting.

It continued: "We can also confirm our Trust is not under investigation by the Department of Health, who contacted us for further information regarding the employment of Basil Fozard as Medical Director on July 1, 2015, and are satisfied that Mr Fozard’s employment meets all legal requirements."

The DoH has described the appointment as "absolutely unacceptable".