Top hospital salary $800,000

A WANGANUI Hospital staffer takes home nearly $800,000 a year.
This year's Whanganui District Health Board annual report states the employee earns between $780,000 and $790,000.
It is more than twice as much as the next highest paid person at the hospital ? over $310,000 ? and nearly three times as much as chief executive Memo Musa's salary of between $270,000 and $280,000.
The report also says while staffing levels have remained the same ? 837 ? the wage bill has increased from $50.008million to $54.437 million.
The hospital's top earner last year was paid more than $600,000.
Wanganui Service and Food Worker's Union representative Chrissy Darth was shocked at the figure.
"I'm absolutely appalled. I'm just shocked because those wages are coming out of the public health funding. I'm also appalled that the board have approved this. What could anybody do that could justify this sort of thing?"
It was even more "appalling" when compared to a cleaner's salary which was just over $21,000.
"I really don't know what to say. I didn't think anybody in a provincial DHB would get paid that much."
The employee's salary is a lot higher than employees of some other DHBs around the country.
MidCentral District Health Board chief executive Murray Georgel's salary is more than $410,000, the Hawkes Bay District Health Board chief $340,000, while an Auckland District Health Board staff member gets more than $480,000.
The ADHB chief takes home more than $430,000.
Prime Minister Helen Clark's salary is $360,000, while Governor General Anand Satyanand earns $170,000, but is exempt from income tax.
However, the Wanganui Hospital employee has a while to go to catch up with Telecom's Theresa Gattung whose salary package is worth $2.83 million a year.
Wanganui Hospital QLab pathologist Ian Sutherland said the figure had to be a misprint.
"I just can't believe that is right. Normally people in short supply can break themselves a good deal, but not that much."
He believed the top earner would either be an eye surgeon, radiologist or orthopaedic surgeon.
Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws, who doesn't take home the $71,000 mayoral salary, said the "tall poppies" would say the figure was a high amount but said it was what skilled professionals in short demand could command.
"It seems a lot of money, and it is, but the reality is that individual could earn that money and probably more in any other hospital in any other location throughout the world. Any good medical specialist is worth 10 times any mayor anywhere in New Zealand. Mayors do bugger all, except in Wanganui."
WDHB chief executive Memo Musa said he was unable to disclose any personal contractual information relating to personnel salaries.