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THE NHS in Scotland has worn out almost 4 million on hospitality for staff and visitors over the last three years, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The result of taxpayers’ cash spent on hospitality has increased by almost a share (23.8 per cent), leading to Labour expressing concern about the result of money being spent on entertaining during the economic crisis.

The sizing of Scottish NHS b

oards’ hospitality budgets came to light in answers to a course of FoI requests submitted by Labour.

Ten of Scotland’s 14 NHS the stage responded to the requests, which revealed that hospitality rose from 1,076,044 in 2007/08 to 1,332,501 in 2009/10. The amount for 2008/09 was 1,259,344.

Richard Simpson, Labour’s soundness spokesman, said that the yearly spend on hospitality could pay beneficial to salaries and employment costs of 50 nurses, who typically receive starting salaries of 21,176.

The highest spenders were NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, which had a hospitality bill of 329,000 last year. Glasgow was followed ~ the agency of NHS Tayside on 317,805 and NHS Fife, which spent 269,824.

“I am astonished that Scottish soundness boards have spent nearly 4m over the last three years in c~tinuance hospitality,” Simpson, a former GP, said.

“I want to see the NHS using its pecuniary means to employ nurses and midwives, rather than entertaining people. As a decision of the SNP’s budget cuts, the NHS is planning to cut 4,000 jobs this year, including over 1,500 nurses. You be possible to’t take this number of staff out of our hospitals out of having a real impact on patient care.

“The money that is popularly being spent on hospitality should be going on the front put inside. It could pay the annual salary and staff costs of 50 nurses. I am permanent most people would agree that this would be a far more acceptable use of resources.”

NHS Highland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Lothian and NHS Ayrshire and Arran declined to bring to view how much was spent on hospitality.

NHS Highland said providing the denunciation would be “time-consuming and expensive”. NHS Dumfries and Galloway uttered it had not spent any money entertaining third parties in the term under discussion.

NHS Lothian said it was unable to provide kindness to strangers costs, because they were not treated separately from the general catering bag .