Johnson withholds severance for C-Diff boss
Health secretary Alan Johnson has suspended severance pay to the boss of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust after details were released of a super-bug outbreak at its three hospitals yesterday.
Following the release of the Healthcare Commission report – which detailed two fatal outbreaks of Clostridium Difficile at the trust’s three hospitals between 2004 and 2006 – Mr Johnson stepped in to halt the £250,000 severance payment.
Rose Gibb left her job days before the damming report into the trust she controlled was published.
The Healthcare Commission report found “significant failings” in the trust’s ability to prevent, identify and control the spread of infection which killed 90 patients and affected numerous others.
Announcing the decision to suspend Ms Gibb’s pay, Mr Johnson said: “I have instructed the trust to withhold any severance payment to the former chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust, pending legal advice.”
Yesterday it emerged both Kent police and the Health and Safety Executive were considering pressing criminal charges against the trust for its failings.
The Conservative party claimed this was the least which should be expected.
Shadow health minister, Stephen O’Brien said: “The NHS trust and the government have a lot to answer for about how the severance deal was negotiated in the first place.
“Suspending the pay-out is the least that should happen at this stage. It certainly doesn’t absolve the government of its broken promises to reduce bed occupancy rates and waiting list times. Bad management has constrained nursing staff from giving the care that is needed.”
The Healthcare Commission report painted a grim picture.
At least 19 deaths were directly attributed to the outbreak of Clostridium Difficile, with as many as 90 fatalities “possibly” caused by the infection.
In total, some 1,170 people were affected by the two outbreaks.
Heather Wood of the Healthcare Commission said the conditions were “completely unacceptable” in a modern hospital.
Ms Woods went on: “We are very clear to say in the report that we cannot say that all of these patients would have survived if they hadn’t got C-Diff, because many of them were elderly, they were frail and they did have other, often serious diseases, conditions.
“But suddenly getting C-Diff made things a lot worse.”
The government claims their have been improvements since the investigation.
Health minister, Ann Keen, said: “We’ve made huge advancements in the infection rate, right across the spectrum in the NHS.
“It has come down, we are making a difference.
“Of course we’ve already been looking at MRSA, seriously bringing that down in many areas, and now also Clostridium Difficile.
“We have a lot to do,” Ms Keen acknowledged, “but we have learnt masses and we now know how to tackle the very serious aspect of this infection.”
