Public sector pay is lower than the private sector, say NHS managers

Pay in Wales averaged �116,000, compared with �107,500 in England, �95,500 in Scotland and �87,500 in Northern Ireland.

Researchers for the study by Incomes Data Services analysed the pay of 2,500 senior NHS staff over the past year.

But NHS managers said health trusts in Wales were bigger than in England.

Although earnings of senior NHS staff vary across the UK, most have seen their pay rise by more than 70% in the past decade, the report found.

Average total remuneration for NHS trust chief executives Wales: �116,000 England: �107,500 Scotland: �95,500 Northern Ireland: �87,500 Median figure

It said the highest salaries were in London, while some of the lowest paid were in ambulance trusts in Cumbria, Coventry and Warwickshire.

Details of the pay of the 2,500 chief executives and directors surveyed were obtained from trust annual reports for 2003/04.

The results cover about 90% of the UK's NHS hospital and primary care trusts.

The UK's top earner was Derek Smith, chief executive of Hammersmith Hospitals in London, who earned between �210,000 and �215,000 in the last financial year.

Hammersmith Hospitals said part of his pay package included a one-off sum of pension arrears going back to when he started at the trust three years ago.

Mike Ponton, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, which represents health managers, said: "It's important to remember that Welsh trusts are larger than English trusts.

"Also, Welsh trusts are 'integrated', which means they provide a wider range of services than their English counterparts.