Former hospital boss Gary Walker was paid £225,000 in compromise agreement with United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust
Former hospital boss Gary Walker has today revealed he was paid £225,000 as part of a compromise agreement when he left United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.
The former ULHT chief executive and former chairman David Bowles gave evidence at a health select committee on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry at the House of Commons this morning.
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The former ULHT chief executive, Gary Walker
During the two-hour meeting, Mr Bowles claimed working in the health service was like "working with the mafia."
Mr Walker claimed he was sacked after raising concerns about patient safety and that he was gagged by the Trust in April, 2011.
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During the meeting, which was chaired by Stephen Dorrell, Mr Walker said: "I settled because my mortgage was in arrears and the family had had enough of it. I was exhausted.
"It was worth £225,000."
Mr Walker added: "I went to Lincoln in 2006 because it was a failing business.
"There was a culture of fear and it was in big debt. We paid off pretty much all debts in two years and we halved waiting times too.
"But things started to get worse and worse from 2008 onwards.
"There was a lot of pressure to deliver targets. But I wanted to focus on patient safety more than anything. That is why I cancelled operations.
"Staff knew there were problems but they were frightened to talk. There was a bullying culture in the health service."
Mr Bowles, who came second in the recent Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner election, added: "Staff said if we, as a Trust, made a formal complaint about them being bullied to the health authority, they would lose their jobs.
"I was a recipient of bullying behaviour too.
"To this day I feel I let the bullied members of staff down.
"It was like working with the mafia at times.”
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