West Suffolk Hospital: 'Witch hunt' NHS Trust boss steps down

The boss of a NHS trust that asked hospital staff for fingerprints and handwriting samples as it hunted a whistleblower is stepping down.

Dr Stephen Dunn will leave West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in the summer after seven years as chief executive.

An independent inquiry into the way management handled the affair is expected to report in the autumn.

Dr Dunn said the last 18 months had "presented operational, structural and cultural challenges within the Trust".

In 2019, private firms were engaged by the hospital to analyse fingerprints and handwriting as it sought to identify the author of a letter sent to the husband of a deceased patient.

Jon Warby received the letter two months after the death of his wife, Susan, in August 2018.

It claimed mistakes were made during her bowel surgery.

An inquest into her death was subsequently told how she had been given glucose instead of saline fluid via an arterial line.

The Doctors' Association described the hospital's attempt to find the author of the letter a "witch-hunt".

A subsequent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection said the way internal investigations had been conducted by the hospital was "unusual and of concern".

Dr Dunn's departure comes three months after it was announced two other senior members of staff, medical director Nick Jenkins and chief operating officer Helen Beck, were also leaving.

The independent inquiry into the affair has been conducted by Christine Outram MBE, who is chairwoman of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.

It was due to report more than a year ago, but the BBC understands individuals due to be criticised are being given a right of reply prior to publication in a representations process.

Dr Dunn said the CQC inspection had been "challenging" with the "overwhelming impact of the pandemic taking a toll on us all".

He said: "I have been thinking about my position for some time, but felt it was my duty to our amazing staff to lead the Trust through one of the most difficult times that it had ever faced.

"For me personally, it is a time to step back and use my knowledge of the Trust and my previous experience to contribute to national policy-making across the health and care sector."

Thanking Dr Dunn, the Trust's chairwoman Sheila Childerhouse said: "Steve has led the organisation with passion and dedication. Together we have seen many successes, including securing the funding for our new hospital building and the integration of community services within the Trust.

"He has also helped us through more turbulent times recently, including navigating through the Covid-19 pandemic."

Deputy chief executive Craig Black will be taking over in the interim while a recruitment process gets under way in the next few months.

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