WORKFORCE: Liverpool Community Health Trust has seen three of its senior staff leave since the release of a highly critical report by the Care Quality Commission.

Trust chief executive Bernie Cuthel stepped down from her role last month after it was “mutually agreed that her departure would be in the best interests of the trust,” a spokesman for Liverpool Community told HSJ.

The trust’s director of operations and executive nurse, Helen Lockett and its director of human resources and organisational development, Michelle Porteus, have also left the organisation since the CQC published its report in January, a spokesman for the trust said.

All departures had been for “very different reasons”, he added.  

Ms Lockett had left to “return to the south west” having worked at the trust for three years during which time she commuted from Bristol to Liverpool; Ms Porteus told staff in February that she was taking up a new senior post in Manchester, the spokesman said.

The CQC report followed an unannounced inspection at the trust’s headquarters at the end of last year.

The care regulator pinpointed shortfalls in the accessibility of equipment, a lack of detailed patient handover information, gaps in clinical supervision and inappropriate admissions to the intermediate care unit.

 “Serious concerns were raised by staff that they would be treated unfairly should they report incidents or concerns to management”, it stated. As a result of its failings, the CQC issued the trust with two warning notices.

A spokeswoman for the TDA told HSJ that Sir Ian Carruthers had been appointed to carry out “independent governance report”.

Sue Page has been appointed as interim chief executive of LCH pending the recruitment of a permanent new chief executive.

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