Valerie Calls for an Independent CEO at Walsall Manor Hospital

At Health Questions on Tuesday 19 April 2022 I asked:

“The Secretary of State will know that Walsall Manor has been merged with Royal Wolverhampton – they share the same Chief Executive and Chairman – without consultation with local people. How on earth can integration take place when Walsall Manor doesn’t have a full-time Chief Executive who can ensure that this happens? Could the Secretary of State please ensure that Walsall Manor get their own Chief Executive?”

The joint Chair and CEO at Walsall and Wolverhampton came into post in early 2021. In June 2021 the McLean Review was established into poor and inappropriate behaviour by the interim CEO David Loughton, and complicity with, and a failure to address, this poor conduct by the Chair Steve Field. In September 2021, the Review upheld these complaints. David Loughton was appointed as an “Interim CEO”, but both he and the Chair remained in post despite the findings of the Review. Now, David Loughton has been appointed as permanent “Group CEO” at both Trusts.

Responsibility for strategic decisions has been taken away from the Walsall Board, and a Joint Organisational Strategy for both Trusts has been commissioned. Local people have been left out of decision-making and accountability in their local hospital. An independent CEO who knows what’s going on on the ground in Walsall is essential to build effective relationships with social care and health providers, and deliver the best experience for patients in Walsall.