Appointments at special measures trust

Pearse Butler will join as chair while regulator Monitor has appointed Fiona Wise as improvement director – a post required by the special measures regime which the trust was put into following a damning Care Quality Commission inspection report in June.

Mr Pearse is a former chief executive of Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital (Alder Hey), Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust and Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority.

He currently works for Computer Sciences Corporation, experience which the trust said would help them “continue to develop modern, digital systems that help ensure joined-up patient care across multiple NHS and social care organisations”. He will leave the company and join the trust by the end of Autumn.

He replaces John Hutton, who stood in as interim chair following the resignation of John Cowdall, who resigned several weeks before Morecambe Bay was put in special measures.

Fiona Wise has occupied a number of chief executive roles in the NHS including at North West London Hospital Trust and Ealing Hospital Trust.

She will work in a part time capacity at Morecambe Bay from October and will be responsible for holding the trust to account against delivery of the action plan which has been drawn up to turn around its performance.

Adam Cayley, regional director at Monitor, said: “Fiona has a wealth of NHS experience, particularly in helping organisations to improve the way they provide services to patients. She will help the trust to build on the progress that it has already made.”