HEALTH union Unison has described the pay rise of Bournemouth NHS trust director Basil Fozard as a "slap in the face" for front line staff.

Mr Fozard, for many years a leading colorectal surgeon, was appointed to the board of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals foundation trust as medical director last month on a salary of £150,000 having already retired from the same role a month prior.

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

The appointment came at the same time as the Conservatives' July budget which announced a capped annual pay rise of one per cent for public sector staff.

Unison regional secretary Joanne Kaye said: "This is a slap in the face to front line NHS workers, that someone can leave to claim a pension then come back on an inflated salary most of us can only dream about at a time when they are being told they will face a one per cent pay cap – a cut in real terms.

"Many will also be seeing a drop in their child tax credits. The government have said this should be made up by employers but if you work in the public sector you are trapped."

The Trust is currently under review by health watchdog Monitor for what the latter described as a "deterioration" in its financial position, as well as a failure to meet accident and emergency and cancer waiting list targets.

Ms Kaye said the trust should be "making sure it is not spending more money than it needs to".

"We are not going to be listening sympathetically to any case they wish to make about pay restrictions when it doesn't apply to retired hospital consultants," she added.

Unison is currently considering whether to make further representations to the trust.

Last week, Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood said experienced senior NHS staff were invaluable to the institution, but were "privileged" to have the opportunity to gain their expertise, funded by taxpayers.