Interim chair appointed at Western Sussex Hospitals Trust

The appointment follows the resignation of Hywel Evans in April due to ill health.

The trust’s chief executive report to its May board meeting stated that Mr Viggers joined Western Sussex on 16 May.

The report noted that he was there on a temporary basis from his role as deputy chair of local mental health provider Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Chief executive Marianne Griffiths said: “This is great news for us, partly because of the speed with which the appointment has been made but more importantly because we will be able to benefit from the leadership of someone with great experience and stature.

“Mike joins us at a critical time in our still-short history as a merged organisation, as we bid to become a foundation trust, and he will have a key role to play in the months ahead.”

She added: “I would like to extend a most sincere thank you to our vice chair Tony Clark who kindly agreed to take on Hywel’s duties until the interim arrangements were finalised. We were all very grateful for Tony’s steadfast support and willingness to help at such short notice.”