20.09.16
Southern Health chair resigns after less than six months
The interim chair, Tim Smart, is the latest senior figure at the troubled Southern Health trust to resign, leaving his post after less than six months for “personal reasons”.
Smart, the former CEO of King’s College FT, was appointed by NHS Improvement in May after a CQC inspection found that the trust was failing to learn from patient deaths or implement safety improvement.
Southern, a mental health and learning disabilities trust, has been under fire since Connor Sparrowhawk, an 18-year-old patient, died in its care.
A subsequent investigation found that it investigated just 13% of unexpected patient deaths.
Smart’s time in the post was controversial. The board of governors went ahead with a meeting he’d cancelled as a sign of defiance.
Katrina Percy, the chief executive, then resigned in August, but the trust came in for more criticism after it emerged that she had transferred to a new job at the trust with the same pay rate, for which she was the only candidate.
In a statement today, the Southern Health board said: “Tim Smart has taken the decision to resign from his position as interim chair, with immediate effect, for personal reasons.
“Since his appointment in May this year Tim has made a considerable contribution to the trust, driving through changes necessary to improve our services. We would like to thank him for his time and dedication.”
The trust added that it is working with NHS Improvement to appoint a new chair “as soon as possible”. Malcolm Berryman, the deputy chair, will temporarily take over Smart’s role.
An NHS Improvement spokesperson said: “Southern Health is a complex trust with many challenges.
“The most important thing is ensuring the trust makes the improvements that patients and their families expect. We note Tim Smart’s decision to leave the trust and are working with the trust leadership to identify a suitable replacement.”
(Image c. Peter Facey)
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