The UK’s largest healthcare charity’s costs and income both rose by around a quarter last year, with energy prices pushing up its expenditure, according to its recently filed accounts.
Nuffield Health’s total income increased to £1.24bn in the 2022 calendar year, up from £996,000 in 2021, the first time it has exceeded £1bn.
Income from its hospital and wellbeing services both increased by more than £100m on the year to £826m and £342m respectively.
However, the charity’s costs also rose by 27% to £1.30bn, driven by a £180m increase in expenditure across its hospital services.
This left Nuffield Health with a £62.6m deficit last year, almost double the £32.8m it recorded in 2021.
CEO pay halves
The charity’s chief executive Steve Gray’s pay halved to between £620,0000 and £630,000, compared to between £1.22m and £1.23m the year before.
In an introduction to the accounts, Gray said a 10% increase in the charity’s gym memberships as well as growth in its hospital activity led to the income rise.
“However, the 2022 results were impacted by our decision to give all employees a pay increase, prioritising those on a lower salary, and factors such as the sharp increase in energy prices,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling in favour of Nuffield Health to receive a mandatory 80% relief from business rates for one of its members-only gyms.
Staff costs increase
The charity’s staff costs increased by £86m to £486m last year, with its number of full-time equivalent employees increasing by 759, to 11,074.
Gray said the organisation “proactively supported and invested in our people to help them cope with the impact of cost-of-living rises, prioritising those on lower salaries”.
“All employees received a pay increase, and the implementation of the Nuffield Health living wage resulted in just over one third receiving an 11% pay rise,” he said.
“Employees in lower salary brackets were also given a one-off cost-of-living payment.”
Meanwhile, the charity reported that its gender pay gap decreased to 3.4% compared to 5.9% the year before.
It also recorded an ethnicity pay gap of 4.4% in favour of non-white employees, compared to 5.7% the year before.
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