Trust lands a new chief two years on

SOUTHPORT and Ormskirk NHS Trust has finally appointed a new permanent chief executive – more than two years after first suspending the former boss.

Silas Nicholls has been appointed to the role after a saga which saw four bosses initially suspended in August 2015, with chief operating officer Sheilah Finnegan and deputy performance director Richard McCarthy later cleared of any offence.

The then chief executive, Jonathan Parry, was sacked in October 2016 after being found guilty of 11 counts of misconduct.

Sharon Partington, who was the then director of HR and Communications, later retired but the trust was forced to investigate the allegations anyway and ruled that she would have been dismissed.

In total, the saga cost the trust almost £1.8m in legal fees, investigation costs, payments to interim staff, and the wages of those suspended.

Mr Nicholls will start the role early in the New Year and was hired following a ‘rigourous’ recruitment process which included focus groups with staff and board members.

He will succeed Karen Jackson who joined the Trust in April 2017 as interim chief executive.

He is currently group deputy chief executive at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Before than, he joined University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust in December 2014 as chief operating officer and later held the role of chief executive from November 2016.

He is also a former director of operations and performance at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and deputy chief executive and director of Strategy at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Nicholls started his career in the NHS as a graduate management trainee and has held a wide range of general management posts, including commissioning roles in health authorities, management of community services and as a divisional manager at hospital trusts across the North West.

Richard Fraser, trust chair, said: “I am delighted to welcome Silas to the Trust. He brings with him a wealth of experience and a strong track record of achievement.

“I also want to thank Karen Jackson for her huge contribution this year. With the support of our staff and stakeholders, she has helped lay substantial foundations on which to build local hospital services for the future.”