Anger At NHS Boss' 'Insulting' Superman Video

A £175,000-a-year NHS boss dressed up as Superman and danced through a hospital for a motivational video that has divided viewers.

The leaked footage featuring Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Phil Morley was branded "insulting" by some, while others labelled it "brilliant".

It shows an apparently stressed Mr Morley answering phone calls in his office, before he is seen transforming into the super hero as he spins around in his chair.

Dressed in the Man of Steel's trademark lycra costume, he begins showing off a series of dance moves and stretches to the backing of Tony Christie's 1971 hit Is This The Way To Amarillo.

After inexplicably adding a white headband to his outfit, he is joined by a number of dancing colleagues on a march through the hospital's corridors.

The video, which was intended to encourage the trust's 8,000 staff to "keep themselves fit and healthy while at work", was posted online by a user called Jim Brennan.

He said: "Oh and when should they do this?? During lunch time for which many staff simply do not have the time to take. The man is an egomaniac."

Another user commenting on the footage said: "What an idiot! Is this what our taxes are being used for? It is an insult to all those front line staff working their socks off in the most challenging times."

And a user called colinhardiman commented: "There's something seriously wrong with this man. I agree with the above comments INSULTING. Being paid £100k and more to be an idiot."

But user Karen Boyle defended Mr Morley, saying: "This is brilliant. Goodness me is everyone so uptight that this man can't display some humour.

"I hope his approach permeates to his staff and brings some happiness there. Well done Phil and ignore the doomsday grumps, they will always find something whinge about, it's in their nature."

Mr Morley said the video took 15 minutes to make and cost the Trust nothing.

"I was approached by our physiotherapy team to record a video to promote Work-Out at Work Day," he said.

"The idea was to create something quirky and memorable to encourage staff to think about how they can keep themselves fit and healthy while at work and I felt it was a worthwhile project to be involved with.

"Whether people loved the event or hated it, the health and well-being of Trust staff is vital to us as an organisation."

Paul Seabourne, manager at the PhysioHull Service, also defended the Mr Morley's role.

"Our team viewed Phil's participation as a real show of support and willingness to invest in the health and wellbeing of the Trust's staff," he said.

"Often such initiatives suffer from staff being self-conscious, resulting in a lack of willingness to participate.

"The video, hopefully, helped some people overcome their fears and initiated positive discussions regarding being active and trying to ensure staff take their breaks."