Fourth CEO in five years leaves under-pressure trust

Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust confirmed to HSJ its boss Stuart Richardson will leave at the end of October.

Mr Richardson’s departure follows a review finding the trust lost track of patient deaths and then a subsequent BBC Newsnight investigation finding the report was edited to remove criticism of its leadership.

It was reported that references to a “culture of fear” highlighted by some staff were removed from the report, fuelling growing concerns about the morale of staff working at the organisation, and their ability to speak up.

Mr Richardson took the role in September 2021, becoming the fourth person to hold the CEO role, substantively or as an interim, in the last five years.

The other three were Adam Morris (interim); Jonathan Warren (March 2019 – March 2021); and Antek Lejk (May 2018 – March 2019). Mason Fitzgerald was also appointed CEO in February 2020 – but then withdrew his application a month later after the BBC revealed he had included a bogus law degree on his CV.

Mr Richardson was the trust’s chief operating officer for three years prior to being appointed CEO. 

Trust chair Zoë Billingham said: “Stuart has led and delivered a number of significant improvements during his tenure over the past five years as both chief executive and chief operating officer.

“On behalf of the trust board, I’d like to pay tribute to his commitment and dedication to improving NSFT for our service users and our staff. His focus on ensuring staff are looked after and valued will be a lasting legacy we are all very grateful for. We wish him every continued success in the future.”

His departure comes less than a fortnight after trust bosses were summoned to the Norfolk County Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee.

Trust deputy CEO Cath Byford said many staff reported bullying and harassment, unfairness, inequality, and nepotism. This was particularly the case in recruitment, with staff feeling jobs were being lined up for certain individuals.

She insisted the trust’s management was working on addressing the deep-rooted problems but that “the measurable culture in the organisation will probably take another four years at least to improve. She added: “I’m not kidding anybody that we’ve got a magic fix.”