05.03.18
New chair appointed as Wirral trust review unearths ‘poor governance and culture’
The full review into events at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS FT has found a record of “poor governance and culture” which created a breakdown in relations between senior leaders.
NHS Improvement (NHSI) released the report at the same time as announcing a new interim chair, Sir David Henshaw, to take over from the heavily criticised Michael Carr, who resigned last week.
Carr stepped down amid pressure from NHSI over severe cultural issues and allegations of sexual misconduct against the trust.
The full report found that there had been some serious issues at the organisation, with the problems leading to a rift between management and made it more difficult to provide the expected level of care.
“It is clear from this report that poor governance and culture at the trust contributed to a breakdown of relations between senior leaders and non-executive board members,” explained Ian Dalton, NHSI chief executive.
“This prevented them from working together to provide their patients with the safe, high quality care that they rightly expect.
“We have appointed Sir David Henshaw, who has a proven track record of providing good leadership to hospitals facing difficulties, as the interim chairman. He will work with us, alongside the interim chief executive, to support the trust to make much needed improvements to their culture, allowing the trust to move forward and address the concerns raised in this report.”
Inspectors also found that there were staff at all levels who felt unable to speak freely about their concerns because of the culture that had been created.
The investigation is one of Dalton’s first major decisions since taking charge at NHSI in December 2017.
He took over the role from Jim Mackey, who returned to his position as chief executive at Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT.
Top image: George-Standen
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