20.01.15
Wigan chief executive to be seconded to Heart of England
Andrew Foster, the chief executive of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL), is to be seconded to the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust to take over as interim chief executive.
The vacancy was created following Mark Newbould’s resignation in November, which itself followed Monitor taking regulatory action against the trust in relation to concerns about waiting times and mortality.
Foster will work at the trust for a maximum of six months. WWL provide the trust with support in areas including staff engagement, quality improvement and communications.
Andrew Foster said: “This secondment is in line with the Dalton Review. Being asked to provide support to Heart of England is recognition of the success and high performance achieved by WWL over recent years”.
The current interim chief executive, Dr Andrew Catto, will resume his previous role as medical director and also serve as interim deputy chief executive.
HEFT is one of the largest trusts in England. It includes Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital and Community Services, Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham Chest Clinic.
Foster will work at HEFT four days a week, returning to WWL one day a week. He will support the executive team led by deputy chief executive Robert Forster, who will be running the day-to-day work of the trust in Foster’s absence.
Les Lawrence, Heart of England’s chair, said: “I am delighted that we have agreed terms with WWL for the provision of support and welcome Andrew Foster to join HEFT as interim chief executive.
“Andrew is a well-known figure in the NHS with excellent experience of dealing with complex organisational and cultural change.”
Since the resignation of its chief executive, HEFT has been seeking assistance from high-performing trusts as part of its Integrated Leadership Support and Resilience Programme.
(Image source: David Jones/PA)
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