Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has placed an advertisement for the £37,000 a year post in today’s edition of The Guardian, and it also appeared in the Public Agenda section of The Times. But patient groups believe that the money could be better spent on nursing staff and cleaners.

The Patients Association said that the decision to recruit an art curator was “amazing”. Simon Williams, policy director at the Patients Association, said: “Most art co-ordinators at hospitals are volunteers. Not only could you probably employ a couple of extra nurses on this salary, I would rather see the money spent on more cleaners.”

Last week the Healthcare Commission downgraded the NHS trust from three to two stars. At the time, Malcolm Stamp, Addenbrooke’s chief executive, said: “Unfortunately we only just missed out on three stars because we did not perform so well in the areas of delayed discharges and cancelled operations despite making progress over the past year.” The hospital was also awarded two out of five because of its record on MRSA.

According to today’s newspaper advert, the hospital is looking for a “dynamic art curator to manage, lead and develop the hospital’s art project”.

The curator will be required to work 18½ hours a week on a pro rata salary of £36,937. The job is offered on a fixed-term, two-year contract. Although the advert does not say how the new post will be funded, a hospital spokeswoman said that the curator’s salary would be paid for by Addenbrooke’s charities and claimed that the art project “lifted the spirits” of patients, visitors and staff.

She said: “The money available for this position is specifically set aside for this purpose and does not detract from money intended for patient care or clinical work.

“The salary has been set at the appropriate level for a position requiring specialist skills and expertise. All art projects are funded through grant applications and sponsors from local and national businesses.”

But a nurse at the hospital, who asked not be named, said: “It’s disgusting. A senior nursing manager’s job was advertised recently at a salary of around £45,000 — that’s not much more than the art curator’s salary.

“The hospital lost a star because of cancelled operations — I don’t remember the commission complaining about the quality of our ‘art project’.”

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