Last updated at 12:43, Saturday, 17 March 2012

A NEWLY-APPOINTED hospital boss trying to turn a crisis-hit trust around, has revealed he is earning £1,000 a day.

Sir David Henshaw, interim chairman of the organisation which runs Furness General Hospital, made the revelation in a bid to promote a culture of openness. It follows a listening exercise with staff at the Barrow hospital.

Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, drafted in the experienced healthcare professional to steer the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust to recovery in February.

Sir David, who runs four private businesses, said he expected to be in the post for around six months. He has been ordered to deliver a recovery plan for the troubled trust to Monitor in May.

It comes in the same week four non-executive directors stepped down from the board and a new interim chief executive, Eric Morton, was appointed.

Sir David said: “I am actually working for less. Eric and I are both very respectful of the times we are in.”

Comparisons have been drawn between UHMBT and Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Trust – where between 400 and 1,200 more patients died between 2005 and 2008 than would be expected for the type of hospital – as Mr Morton was tasked with steering it to recovery in 2009.

But Sir David offered assurances the situations at the two trusts were “very different”.

The UHMBT has been hit by a series of scandals over the past 10 months, which began with the inquest into the death of baby boy Joshua Titcombe, who died in 2008 following failings in care at FGH.

A criminal investigation into a “number” of deaths involving mothers and babies at FGH is still ongoing. Since then, the trust has remained in the headlines as a series of reviews, reports and revelations from intervening health watchdogs have been made public.

He took part in the first of a series of meetings with staff at FGH, designed to include them in driving improvements, on Thursday.

Sir David, who spends around two days a fortnight at FGH, said: “There are issues here. We need to create a whole new vision for this trust. I’ve met with the public governors and they are looking forward to being a lot more involved. At the same time, staff are coming forward with some brilliant ideas.

“They’re telling me how they feel they can speak out now, more so than before. They want to feel they can contribute.

“We’re looking at bringing people together, clinical and managerial leadership and making people more accountable. Everyone has got to feel part of it.”

The trust will advertise for a permanent chief executive next week. It has also appointed three assistant nursing directors, one of which will be based permanently in Barrow.

First published at 10:37, Saturday, 17 March 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk