The chairman of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust has been removed from his post over a series of failings, regulator Monitor has announced.
Richard Bourne was reappointed as chairman of the Trust in September, after chairing it for four years.
But Monitor has used its regulatory powers to force him to step down over concerns about patient safety, leadership and waiting times.
A statement from Monitor said: ”Regulatory action has been prompted by the trust’s failure to comply with healthcare standards, its failure to exercise its functions effectively, efficiently and economically, and serious and wide-ranging concerns as to overall governance and leadership at the trust.”
The news comes after Monitor intervened at another foundation trust, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, after a damning report found poor hygiene and standards of care.
The foundation trust status is a supposed marker of excellence and allows NHS organisations greater financial freedom and control over their own affairs.
Bourne’s removal came as the head of the healthcare watchdog said the system of rating the NHS should be scrapped in the wake of revelations about hundreds of avoidable deaths at one hospital.
Baroness Young said that the current inspection regime which rates hospitals from “excellent” to “poor” was simplistic and should be replaced by a “much more sophisticated” process.
Read more at The Telegraph.
Tags: Foundation trusts, Monitor
