01/11/2007
Severance Pay Cut Off In NHS Superbug Scandal
The Health Secretary has revealed that the former chief executive of the NHS trust at the centre of a superbug scandal in which 90 patients died will not receive any severance pay.
Alan Johnson said Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust may have acted unlawfully in agreeing the cash package for Rose Gibb in the first place.
Mr Johnson said legal advice showed the correct process had not been followed.
He said: "The trust, under the leadership of the new chairman, has decided it will not, at this time, be paying any of the severance package originally agreed."
Mr Johnson made the announcement on a visit to Maidstone Hospital on Thursday, where he met staff and patients.
Maidstone was one of three hospitals where patients died following two outbreaks of C-diff.
Commenting on how Ms Gibb resigned days before the Healthcare Commission criticised the trust over clostridium difficile, he said leadership of the trust had "failed completely"
Mr Johnson said the hospitals - Maidstone, Pembury and the Kent and Sussex at Tunbridge Wells - would be among the first in England to be deep cleaned and would get an extra £350,000 to pay for the work.
He also named the preferred bidder appointed to build a new £228m Pembury Hospital, starting in the New Year.
The hospital, expected to be completed by 2010, will replace Pembury and the Kent and Sussex.
"The new hospital at Pembury is a hugely significant development," said Mr Johnson.
"With a new leadership team in place the trust can now look to the future."
Mr Johnson's visit coincided with a march through London to Downing Street by about 50 friends and relatives of people who died.
They carried a banner with the names and faces of 80 of the C-diff victims.
The trust also revealed on Thursday that the former director of nursing, Bernard Place, had handed in his notice.
(BMcC)
Alan Johnson said Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust may have acted unlawfully in agreeing the cash package for Rose Gibb in the first place.
Mr Johnson said legal advice showed the correct process had not been followed.
He said: "The trust, under the leadership of the new chairman, has decided it will not, at this time, be paying any of the severance package originally agreed."
Mr Johnson made the announcement on a visit to Maidstone Hospital on Thursday, where he met staff and patients.
Maidstone was one of three hospitals where patients died following two outbreaks of C-diff.
Commenting on how Ms Gibb resigned days before the Healthcare Commission criticised the trust over clostridium difficile, he said leadership of the trust had "failed completely"
Mr Johnson said the hospitals - Maidstone, Pembury and the Kent and Sussex at Tunbridge Wells - would be among the first in England to be deep cleaned and would get an extra £350,000 to pay for the work.
He also named the preferred bidder appointed to build a new £228m Pembury Hospital, starting in the New Year.
The hospital, expected to be completed by 2010, will replace Pembury and the Kent and Sussex.
"The new hospital at Pembury is a hugely significant development," said Mr Johnson.
"With a new leadership team in place the trust can now look to the future."
Mr Johnson's visit coincided with a march through London to Downing Street by about 50 friends and relatives of people who died.
They carried a banner with the names and faces of 80 of the C-diff victims.
The trust also revealed on Thursday that the former director of nursing, Bernard Place, had handed in his notice.
(BMcC)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.