Trust set to lose finance director as well as CEO

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Both the chief executive and finance director to leave this autumn
Finanical improvement director to help trust reduce deficit

Medway Foundation Trust is to lose both its finance director and chief executive this autumn – with the medical director also making a sideways move into a different role.

Director of finance and business services Tracey Cotterill’s departure was announced at this month’s board meeting. She joined the trust in May 2017. Chief executive Lesley Dwyer has already said she will step down to return to her native Australia. She is expected to leave in November.

Diana Hamilton-Fairley has moved from medical director to become director of strategy and her role is being filled by David Sulch as an interim measure.

The moves come after a period of comparative stability in the executive team. Before Ms Dwyer arrived in 2015, the trust was dependent on interim executives. She has concentrated on building a permanent team, including James Devine, director of human resources and organisational development, who will step in as interim chief executive when she leaves.

Ms Dwyer said: “Tracey has been travelling from her home in Gloucestershire for 18 months and has resigned to be closer to her family. I would like to thank Tracey for all she has done in progressing our financial recovery plan during her time at the Trust. We are currently in the process of recruiting a permanent director of finance.”

The trust has also appointed a short-term financial improvement director, Mark Hackett, the former chief executive of University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust.

The trust has struggled on both the A&E four hour target and the 18 week referral to treatment target, and had a deficit of £66.4m (excluding sustainability and transformation funding) in 2017-18, which was £19.5m worse than planned.