Moonlighting With Our Money

All this talk about Pilgrims - that is, union reps being paid out of the public purse, in this case by the NHS - rang a little bell with your host.

Here is Jane Pilgrim's Wikipedia entry (emphasis mine).

Jane Pilgrim is an English full-time trade union organiser working in the National Health Service for UNISON. She came to public attention in 2011 after criticising the government's health policies. Despite being billed as a nurse, she was found to be a full-time trade union official, being paid £40,000 by the hospital. She is now under investigation by both St George's Hospital and UNISON for running a private health consultancy called 'The Pilgrim Way' on the side, creating a conflict of interests.

Hmmm. St George's? What a coincidence.

I looked into CASH a while ago and vaguely remembered that they received paltry income while paradoxically enjoying huge media interest. It also struck me that they were working out of someone's office in Tooting.

That someone didn't concern me at the time ...

Prof Graham MacGregor, of St George's Hospital, in Tooting, South-West London, welcomed the move but added: "Why do they need to put salt on the chips at all? Why not leave them as they are and let customers sprinkle on what they want?"

Hmm, interesting.

But the BBC article says he is from the "Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine".

Funny enough, so now is the HQ of CASH.

Principal address:
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine,
Charterhouse Square,
London ECIM 6BQ

So it would seem that this entire organisation consists of Graham MacGregor and, err, a couple of mates.

Is moonlighting while on the public payroll - and in so doing, setting up very lucrative sidelines - a stated perk for medical staff at St George's Hospital?

Must be a busy place, huh?