Trust appoints interim chief after failed recruitment campaign

Andrew Morgan, chief executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services Trust, will take on the job until 31 March 2020.

ULHT’s current chief executive Jan Sobieraj announced his retirement earlier this year. He will leave the trust after three years at the end of June.

Chair Elaine Baylis said: “Following the announcement that our chief executive Jan Sobieraj intends to retire at the end of June, we have undertaken an extensive national recruitment campaign to appoint a successor.

“Unfortunately, we have not been successful in making an appointment and therefore I have been working with regional NHS England and NHS Improvement colleagues to secure interim arrangements,” Ms Baylis said.

She added Mr Morgan is “very familiar” with the challenges the trust faced and has been working with Mr Sobieraj and other colleagues on a system-wide approach for some time.

“This consistency is important as we move forward with our programmes to improve our services,” she said.

Mr Morgan will step down as chief executive of LCHS and the trust said “alternative management arrangements” will be made.

UHLT’s Care Quality Commission rating was raised from “inadequate” to ”requires improvement” last year but it remained in special measures because it was “consumed by operational issues”.

HSJ also reported last year that the Unite staff-side committee at the trust had passed a vote of no confidence because of patient safety fears.