LONDON An NHS trust came under attack yesterday after paying £1,700 to fly a consultant anaesthetist's pet Rottweiler over from the US.
Hartlepool and Peterlee NHS Trust paid for an air ticket and quarantine costs for the dog in an attempt to attract the consultant to a new job in the northeast of England. The trust also paid to transport the consultant's Jeep. Labour's Hartlepool MP, Mr Peter Mandelson, said "This is market forces gone mad.".