Trust chair to leave after MPs' concerns

Jenni Ord, chair of the Dudley Group Foundation trust, is to leave the trust at the end of April. The trust said she wants to “regain a better work life balance”.

Her departure also comes amid delays to the publication of an independent whistleblowing review, which is looking into concerns raised by 42 senior clinicians about the trust’s executive board members.

Ms Ord, along with NHS Improvement, commissioned law firm Capsticks to carry out a review of the whistleblowing concerns. HSJ understands this was finished in November last year but the publication has been delayed.

As reported previously, four local MPs raised concerns that the report has not yet been published, and that Ms Ord’s tenure was extended in November for a further three years.

In a statement, published today, the trust said: “Regular trust business, including significant additional demands on the trust, resulted in huge time investment and personal involvement, with intense periods of activity throughout this business year. Jenni’s assessment is that this looks set to continue well into next year.

“She believes such time commitment is no longer sustainable.”

Ms Ord, who has led the trust for three years, said: “Taking everything into account I do feel it is the right time for me to regain a better work life balance and to provide an opportunity for a successor to carry forward the future development of the trust.

“It has been a privilege to work with everyone in Dudley and I have enjoyed each and every day, both the highs and the lows,” she added.

“I appreciate the fact that I have had the support of board colleagues, governors and staff over the last three years and this, above all, is what I value most.”