Scotland’s smallest health board has been criticised for planning to spend up to £60,000 on a headhunter to fill just two posts.
NHS Orkney has advertised for “executive search services” to find candidates for positions in a new health partnership it has set up.
Bosses claim they do not have the in-house skills to search for the “high-calibre” applicants they need for the key roles.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance said the figure was an “unbelievable” example of a “culture of overspending” in the health service.
Chief executive Matthew Elliott said the money would be better spent on nurses and resources for frontline services and not wasted on recruitment.
“Clearly the NHS should find the best person for the job but there’s no need to spend tens of thousands doing that,” he added.
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said that, while she had some sympathy for NHS Orkney given its size, the amount of money it was prepared to spend on a headhunter was “extortionate”.
She said the Scottish Government should step in to help small NHS boards hire top-flight officers who are vital to the delivery of healthcare.
Ms Grant said: “This is a huge amount of money that would be better spent on frontline patient care.”
Fiona Smith, NHS Orkney’s human resources director, agreed the size of the health board and limited resources available to it made recruiting senior managers a “challenge”.
However, she defended the decision to spend up to £60,000 on recruitment specialists to fill the two positions within the Community Health and Social Care Partnership.
“These posts are very senior positions, and pivotal to the success of taking forward the development of health and social care service in Orkney,” said Ms Smith. “They are very important jobs and it is critical that the right appointments are made.
“The use of executive search firms ensures that employers have access to a pool of high-calibre candidates who would not apply as a result of a traditional advert.
“The skills required to carry out executive search do not exist in-house.”
One of the posts is solely attached to NHS Orkney and the other is a shared position between the health board and Orkney Island Council. Ms Smith said the board and local authority are satisfied the decision represents a “good investment in the best interests of our communities”.
She added that due to the size of NHS Orkney there is often not the skills and experience available internally to cover senior vacancies for prolonged periods which has a “significant knock-on costs” when posts cannot be filled quickly.
The deadline for firms to bid for the contract is March 12 and NHS Orkney said it expects to appoint the head hunters by the end of the month.