Stafford hospital boss 'did not quit'
The former chief executive of beleaguered Stafford Hospital never actually quit his job, the Express & Star can reveal today.
Incredibly, Martin Yeates is still a fully paid-up employee of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
He was widely understood to have resigned at the start of this month, however, he has been receiving his full six-figure salary all the time – without having to do any work or face the flak for the "appaling standards of care" found by the Healthcare Commission.
The sensational news emerged during a storm of controversy over his leadership of the trust and Stafford Hospital, with the Healthcare Commission report saying that failings at the facility caused hundreds of people to die needlessly.
The revelation was also greeted with fury by Cure the NHS founder Julie Bailey, who was this morning set to appear on national television.
She said: "This is a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace – it's lying by omission. It's what they've been doing all along and it shows they are rotten to the core."
On March 3, the trust announced that Mr Yeates, along with trust chairman Toni Brisby, had "stepped down". In a statement headed "Chair and Chief Executive Step Down", the trust quoted Mr Yeates as saying he had "stood aside" and this was widely understood to mean he had handed in his resignation.
However, after a request for clarification over Mr Yeates' position from the Express & Star, the trust responded by saying that Mr Yeates had only just been suspended from his role on Monday by the trust board, who had just read the Healthcare Commission report.
The trust said Mr Yeates had merely "stood aside" on March 3 and had been entitled to continue receiving his salary of between £125,000 and £150,000 all the time – without having to shoulder any of the responsibility his job previously entailed.
The Express & Star then asked the following questions – and these are the answers we received.
Q – What exactly changed regarding Mr Yeates' employment status when he "stood aside" on March 3?
A – When Mr Yeates stood aside, he relinquished his chief executive duties, which allowed Monitor to appoint an interim chief executive.
Q – Was he still, to all intents and purposes, still an employee of the trust?
A – Yes.
Q – Was he still drawing his salary as normal but just not having to go into work?
A - Yes.
Q – When he "stood aside", was he absolved of the responsibilities his position carried? A – Yes.
Q – If he did not technically resign, why did the trust not point this out after reading the countless media reports saying he had?
A – The trust issued a press release clearly stating Mr Yeates had stood aside. Since then, the board met and has formally suspended him.
A serving nurse told the Express & Star: "This is a scandal. He's being paid a hell of a lot of money to do his job but he's not taking any of the responsibility for all this. He should be a man and face up to his responsibilities."
A spokeswoman for Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust said Mr Yeates was unavailable for comment.
There was no sign of Mr Yeates at his detached home near Church Eaton today.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has today repeated his apology to the people of Staffordshire over the Stafford Hospital situation.
