Wolverhampton hospital boss takes over as interim chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

Professor David Loughton CBE will become chief executive of both the Black Country NHS trusts in his new role – which it is hoped will improve patient care and support the Walsall trust to improve its CQC rating.

Mr Loughton said: "I look forward to working with the team at Walsall on the next steps of this journey, with a continued focus on the health and wellbeing of staff and improving the quality of care, and outcomes for the people of Walsall.

“Another area we will be focussing on is increasing our substantive workforce, in particular within nursing, to reduce the reliance on agency staffing and improve our quality of care to patients.

“My commitment to RWT ( Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust) absolutely does not change. Our journey is ongoing and will continue to be one we take together. In every decision I make in my role as chief executive I consider the outcomes for patients, and the wellbeing and needs of staff. I will bring the same focus and commitment into this new interim role.”

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Mr Loughton is the longest service chief executive in the NHS and has held the role at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for more than 17 years.

Professor Steve Field CBE, chairman of both trusts, added: "This is a great opportunity to share, learn together and continue to make a positive difference for the people we serve.

“Undoubtedly, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has been on a journey as they focus on improving care, areas of development and building on their good practice such as innovation and compassionate patient care. Their work on improving out of hospital care, Walsall Together, has been particularly impressive and we look forward to sharing that learning with colleagues in Wolverhampton.

“I am very pleased that David and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have agreed to a shared chief executive role on this interim basis. I believe that David’s expertise and leadership, brings a timely and high-quality response to enable Walsall’s improvement journey.

“I, along with my non-executive colleagues, know that this interim role will benefit Walsall from strengthening our leadership and governance arrangements. David comes with an impressive track record.

“I wish to place my thanks on record to Daren Fradgley for his hard work and dedication whilst holding the position of acting chief executive."

Mr Fradgley, the Walsall trust's deputy CEO, had been leading the trust after Richard Beeken became acting chief executive at the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.