KEY allies of former hospital chief executive Phil Morley received about £250,000 in pay rises, extra payments and financial sweeteners while he was in charge, the Mail can reveal.
Amanda Pye and Jayne Adamson, the two women who joined Mr Morley on a controversial sunset cruise in Florida, saw their salaries soar during Mr Morley's time as chief executive.
The pair received pay rises amounting to about £125,000 over three years, with Ms Pye's salary alone soaring by £90,000.
Chief of workforce and organisational development Jayne Adamson also received a "golden hello" when she joined the trust in 2011 from Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust, a payment outside the normal relocation package offered to staff on top of their salaries.
As well as her starting salary of about £105,000, Mrs Adamson received an extra payment of between £10,000 to £15,000 allegedly without prior approval of the board of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. By last year, she was on a salary of about £140,000.
Ms Pye saw her salary rise from about £55,000 in 2010-11 while she was director of quality, safety and operational delivery to about £100,000 when she was promoted to chief operating officer after Mr Morley's arrival at the trust. She also received an extra payment of between £30,000 and £35,000 that year. Her salary then rose again to about £145,000.
Another of Mr Morley's key team, Morag Olsen, originally on a salary of about £75,000 as chief nurse and chief operating officer in 2012-13, saw her salary more than double to about £155,000 when she became chief operating officer and deputy chief executive in 2013-14.
All three women have now left the trust in the wake of Mr Morley's departure.
In an exclusive interview, Ursula Vickerton, chair of the trust's audit committee, said she was the whistle-blower who called in auditors KPMG after her requests for an explanation over payments made to a number of staff outside their salaries were brushed off by Mr Morley.
Mrs Vickerton told how she alerted the National Trust Development Authority (NTDA), which arrived in February to investigate.
Mr Morley resigned just weeks later.
Mrs Vickerton, who is standing down from her position on the audit committee and as non-executive director on the trust board at the end of the year, said: "In overall terms, it wasn't a great deal of money, but it was outside the normal relocation package for the trust. It was also not being clear and transparent."
All staff given additional payments without the approval of the trust board have now been asked to pay the money back.
Chris Long, the chief executive who replaced Mr Morley, confirmed Mrs Adamson received "a recruitment incentive" to join the trust.
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