THE new chair of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has promised a more open and transparent approach following a series of revelations.
Caragh Merrick’s intervention comes after Save the Alex campaign group reacted with astonishment at the news that the local health authority – with debts of £59 million – is continuing to pay its chief operating officer’s salary of £115,000 despite him being off work for more than a year.
Stewart Messer hasn’t attended work at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) since May 2015 and due to ‘reasons of confidentiality’ it is not prepared to say why.
Neverthless Mr Messer has continued to receive his salary of £115,000 while the Birmingham Mail has reported that the man brought in to replace him, Rab McEwan, who also acts as cover for chief executive Chris Tidman, is receiving a wage of £190,000 per annum.
The Mail reports that in January 2015 Mr Messer was publicly accused of having banned a whistleblowing paramedic from Worcester Royal and the Alexandra Hospital after he told the media the hospitals’ overcrowded A&E departments were ‘not safe’.
Neal Stote, chairman of Save the Alex, said: “I find it incredible that we are continuing to pay for someone who is not doing any work for this trust.
“Who will be held responsible for this? The managers who gave this payment the green light have long gone. Who is in charge for this?”
The payment was revealed in WAHT’s annual report which also detailed a £75,000 payment, made over the six months notice period of former chief executive Penny Venables.
Ms Venables, who was earning £150,000 a year, had been on sick leave and her resignation was officially announced in Jul;y 2015, however the report states she didn’t actually go off the payroll until January 2016.
WAHT was recently branded as ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission which has also rapped it over the failure to carry out reports on thousands of X-rays.
Under its leadership the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch has seen its Accident and Emergency Department downgraded with all major trauma cases now going to Worcester Royal Hospital, including stroke and heart attack victims.
Furthermore the Alex has lost its maternity services and major gynaecology surgery cases.
Earlier this month the trust closed the Alex’s childrens’ ward with all child in-patient services also transferring to Worcester.
A trust spokesperson acknowledged that Mr Messer was still in the employment of WAHT but due to reasons of confidentiality could not go into further details.
He added that the ‘Trust Renumeration Committee’ had agreed that Penny Venables was entitled to six months half pay, and that it had been their decision alone.
WAHT has recently appointed a new chairperson, Caragh Merrick, following the resignation of the previous incumbent, Harry Turner, earlier this year.
Caragh Merrick Chairman of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I fully understand the public concern and media interest in this story. It relates to a situation where the Trust had to act quickly to cover positions when executive directors were unable to work for various reasons. I took up my post as Chairman on September 12 and I am not in a position to speculate on what was intended or communicated orally in meetings in the past. However I am very concerned by the issues raised.
“It is important that the Trust has the support and confidence of the local communities we serve and that is something that I know is damaged when arrangements, no matter how legitimate, are not fully disclosed on a timely basis and I would like to apologise for the upset this has caused our staff and the community we serve”.
“The payments referred to occurred under a previous chairman and I understand were contractual obligations. Unfortunately the Trust press release, at the time, did not make clear that there was a six month notice period payable to Ms Venables who carried out project work during her notice period.
“My position going forward is clear – we must be open and transparent in all of our dealings.
“Under my leadership I am taking steps to ensure that we engage with the public and stakeholders more regularly and more effectively, to ensure that information is made available in a timely and transparent manner.”
The Alex serves a population of some 200,000 people and a public meeting is being held this coming Wednesday, September 28, at 7pm at Redditch Town Hall where a panel of top medics will face questions from the public to explain the downgrading.
The meeting will be co-chaired by local MP Karen Lumley and Councillor Bill Hartnett, the leader of Redditch borough council and all are welcome to attend.
