A health board racked up a £225,524 bill last year on consultants for communications and engagement work. Swansea Bay University Health Board, which has its own communications team, said the expenditure included work on a public engagement exercise ahead of a major reshaping of hospital services. Such work, it said, wasn't directly linked to the in-house communications team.
The figure was provided in a response to a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. No external consultants were used in the previous two years.
The health board said it currently employed seven full-time communications staff, one part-time, and one on a 12-month full-time contract. The team, it said, was the smallest in terms of its "peer" health boards in Wales - but there are plans to expand it. The salaries for the team totalled £300,723 in 2021-22, and £277,116 the previous year. You can get more health news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
