Thanks are due to the Echo for highlighting the appalling cost of employing a temporary chief executive and ‘business consultants’ at Dorset County Hospital following the massive budget deficit for the Foundation Trust earlier this year.

I also agree with the content of Dr Orrell’s letter (July 30) in that it is my experience that many organisations, including NHS Trusts seem to think that when the going gets tough, the only answer is to call in business consultants at vast expense to ‘fix’ the problem.

For the Foundation Trust board to justify the expenditure by saying that the cost was ‘only £300,000 more than employing permanent staff and gave DCH a recovery plan’ is quite frankly unacceptable.

It mystifies me why this board could not think of a more creative and cost-effective way of managing the deficit.

Clearly it is preferable to have a permanent chief executive but if there is an interim period as in this case, why not allow one of the most talented senior members of hospital management to act up or even promote them?

Similarly, surely talented staff within the management of DCH could formulate a recovery plan without recourse to overpaid consultants?

If they required some outside help then at least the board could seek value for money.

I am sure nearly everyone would agree with me that we need to protect frontline services at DCH and if cuts have to be made, then it should not be doctors, nurses, technicians and other support staff, except as a last resort. Make cuts in management a priority.

Also, that £300,000 might not have made a massive difference – but how many nursing auxiliaries, which seem to be lacking at DCH, could be employed for a year with that money alone?

It seems to me that the foundation trust board has failed the frontline staff and patients of Dorset County Hospital.

Why not appoint members of the public from the local community who have common sense and some business knowledge to the trust board?

They could replace some of the unconnected board members who have let us down so badly and might begin to win back the support of frontline staff and patients of DCH.

Andrew Pegg, High Street, Wyke Regis