ULHT chief executive leaves after sickness
The chief executive of a problem-riddled NHS trust in Lincolnshire has "left" after going off sick with stress seven months ago.
But United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust will not reveal whether Gary Walker was pushed to leave or in fact resigned.
Mr Walker was embroiled in a row with NHS East Midlands over missed waiting time and A&E targets at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust's sites in the 2008/09 financial year.
Mr Walker and chairman David Bowles blamed a huge influx of patients to the hospitals, and in particular Lincoln County Hospital for missing the Government targets.
The pair insisted that patient safety would be compromised if the hospitals became overcrowded with the risk of infections, including MRSA, rising therefore making non-urgent patients wait longer for their operations.
But NHS East Midlands argued that other trusts were under similar pressures but managed to meet their targets.
Mr Bowles was suspended from the trust and subsequently resigned.
Since going off sick in July last year Mr Walker was paid his full annual salary – upwards of £165k – for six months which was then slashed by 50 per cent last month.
Clare White, head of communications at ULHT, confirmed: "Chief Executive Gary Walker left the trust with effect from Wednesday, February 3.
"We will now begin the process of recruiting a new chief executive to lead the trust.
"In the interim, the current management arrangements, with Bernard Chalk as acting chief executive, will remain.
"We have a duty of confidentiality and are not prepared to comment further."
4 Comments
by Jaspers, Lincoln
Monday, February 08 2010, 11:49AM
“I would be interested to know the precise terms of Mr Walker' leaving and what it actually cost the taxpayer. No matter how badly some of these NHS CEO'S perform, they seem to end up costing the taxpayer an arm and a leg in severance agreements, pension topups etc.”
by the boss, lincs
Friday, February 05 2010, 8:37AM
“oh dear another poor soul on the take and with headache sack him straight away and put him on the dole what numptys are dishing these contracts out...if he worked for me i would have checked the idiot out and put him on my termed contract if ya leave on sick terms you sign on......no ifs or buts”
by positive, Lincoln
Friday, February 05 2010, 8:32AM
“I for one will be sad to see Gary Walker go. It is easy for taxpayer of Lincoln to pick up on the negative - forgetting that actually there was a lot of positives. How typical of human nature. Can you remember the debt the hospital was in? I personally think there is more to this story than we the reader know and I hope the Echo will get to the bottom of it.”
by Tax Payer, Lincoln
Friday, February 05 2010, 7:54AM
“I notice that ULHT do not offer any thanks for Mr Walker's service over the last few years. Perhaps it is because he leaves the Trust in such a mess, demoralised and broken, without an essential acute service - Microbiology, which he was instrumental in moving to Scunthorpe. Hopefully with a new Chairman and CEO we can bring sanity and patient care back to the forefront of policy and ULHT can once again improve performance.”