Trust announces successor to ‘aggressive’ chair

A foundation trust whose chair resigned after a tribunal found he had unfairly forced out its former chief executive has appointed an interim successor.

Neil Large will take over from Ian Haythornthwaite at The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust from 1 March for a six-month period.

The move comes after a tribunal found former CEO Susan Gilby was subjected to a coordinated campaign instigated by Mr Haythornthwaite, alongside chief people officer Nicola Price and two non-executive directors.

The campaign was dubbed “Project Countess” and was “designed to protect the [chair] and manoeuvre [Dr Gilby] out of the trust”.

The project was launched after Dr Gilby began raising concerns with directors in spring 2022 about Mr Haythornthwaite’s “confrontational and aggressive behaviour”, according to the tribunal.

It concluded that Mr Haythornthwaite’s behaviour was “indicative of a chair prioritising his own self-interest above that of the trust and failing to work collaboratively with the CEO and staff”. He resigned earlier this month.

Mr Large has more than 30 years of board-level experience, across the public and voluntary sector, and was previously chair of Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital Foundation Trust. He was also a non-executive director at Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board.

He said: “I am honoured to take up the role of interim chair at the CoCH – my local hospital – and I look forward to leading the board of directors and supporting staff to continue to improve patient care, safety and experience.”

A trust statement said Mr Large will hold the position for six months while a “full and thorough recruitment process” for a permanent chair takes place.

CoCH chief Jane Tomkinson said: “We are confident that under Neil’s leadership, we will continue to improve our services, focusing on the experiences of our patients and our staff.

“Our vision is to provide outstanding care and Neil will support this ambition whilst we move ahead with a full and thorough recruitment process for a permanent chair.”