Walsall hospital boss forced to apologise after calling board members 'useless'
The boss of two of the Black Country's largest hospitals has been forced to apologise for his "inappropriate" behaviour after serious allegations were made against him by senior staff.
David Loughton is the chief executive of the NHS trust which runs New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and is temporarily in the same role at the trust which runs the Manor Hospital.
He has now been reprimanded after behaving "poorly and inappropriately," while the chairman of the two hospital trusts Steve Field has also been criticised for failing to hold Mr Loughton to account.
Mr Loughton was said to have described board members in Walsall as "useless", while chairman Mr Field reportedly said he was "ashamed" to be the trust's chair.
NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) Midlands launched an independent review into the two senior leaders when allegations were made last year, after they were both brought in to work at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust on top of their roles at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
Both men have now said they are "sorry if this has caused offence" and admitted they had not always got things right while "wanting to make improvements quickly".
The investigation was spearheaded by Dr Kathy McLean after staff raised concerns through the Freedom to Speak Up scheme and other whistleblowing procedures.
It comes six years after Mr Loughton faced calls to resign for the way he treated a staff member who made allegations over death rates and fraud.
Several people said they heard Mr Loughton speak negatively about executives and non-executive directors at the Walsall trust, referring to them as "useless" on more than one occasion, and he was found to be "undermining" and have used "denigrating words" about board members.
Meanwhile cash was said to have been allocated despite no funding stream having been found, with Mr Loughton said to have told the director of finance "didn’t you listen to me? I told you I had sorted the money".
Last April, Mr Loughton also told a public meeting how he had spent £12 million on building a new ward at New Cross Hospital using funding that was not yet available.
The report found he was straight talking and direct but at times this was perceived to have stepped beyond respectful, with the health chief not thought to welcome people questioning his decisions.
Mr Loughton was praised for bringing "pace and clarity of direction, with a focus on patient safety and quality" since taking over in Walsall but the report concluded that "the manner of some of his interactions with senior colleagues falls short of those expected when considered against the NHS values."
Dr McLean said there was a risk staff would not speak up as a result, but said some workers had spoken of their loyalty to Mr Loughton and welcomed the pace of improvements he had introduced.
Meanwhile chairman Mr Field was said to have been "communicative" and engaging but concerns were raised that he had exaggerated the challenges facing the trust, reportedly saying "if I knew what I know now I would not have taken the job" and that he was "ashamed to call himself chair of Walsall".
Staff said his behaviour changed once Mr Loughton was appointed and that he was not supportive while Mr Loughton was not listening. Mr Field seemed "brusque or direct" and board members felt they weren't respected, the probe found.
Dr McLean said: "Leadership changes can, understandably, represent a period of anxiety for those affected but this can be minimised if changes are made in line with appropriate values and processes. Whilst I conclude that the joint chair and interim CEO were motivated to act in the best interests of patients, I was saddened by much of what I heard."
The report added: "The joint chair [Mr Field] made a positive start in March 2021, but this impression changed over time. There were concerns expressed that the relationship between the joint chair and interim CEO was not one whereby the CEO was being held to account.
"From the interviews I have conducted I conclude that the joint chair did little to intervene or moderate the style of the interim CEO, leaving board colleagues feeling exposed and undermined."
She concluded: "The interim CEO, whilst motivated by the safety and care of patients has behaved poorly and inappropriately and that the joint chair has been complicit with and failed to address this behaviour."
Mr Field and Mr Loughton were ordered to reflect on their behaviour, apologise and spend time repairing relations with other board members. Mr Field was also told to ensure he holds Mr Loughton to account.
The pair, who are both professors and have CBEs, were given the Walsall roles in April last year with Mr Field made chair on a permanent basis and Mr Loughton given the CEO role temporarily.
John Dunn, senior non-independent executive director at the Walsall trust, told a public trust board meeting on Wednesday that the findings and seven recommendations of the report had been accepted and that "significant progress" has been made.
Meanwhile Mr Field told the meeting he was now proud rather than ashamed to lead the trust.
He said: "With the leadership we now have, we're really going places. The culture is far more open and honest and I'm absolutely delighted with the progress and I'm proud to be the chairman of the trust now in Walsall – it was difficult when I took over but I feel good about it now."
Full statement from Mr Loughton and Mr Field
The interim CEO and chair said: "We are both driven by a passion to ensure the highest possible standards of care for the people we serve.
"That means providing patients with the safest possible care, delivered to the highest professional standards, in suitable surroundings, with the necessary equipment and delivered with compassion.
"It also means we must attract and retain the best possible staff that we can and create an environment that supports this.
"Since our arrival at WHT we have looked for the good and outstanding practice to celebrate but we have also had confirmation of concerns raised by external reports and discovered new concerns that impact on the safety of patients, and the compassion with which patients and staff are treated.
"Numerous staff have raised concerns with us and welcomed the fact that we are taking action.
"We have been impatient to see the improvements, especially for patients, and sometimes we have felt that our concerns have not been listened to, accepted or acted upon or that a need for swift change has been recognised.
"We are aware we have put pressure on senior leaders to make improvements and accept the need for change to improve care and staff engagement. In wanting to make improvements quickly, to reduce the risk of causing harm to our patients or staff leaving we accept that we have not always got things right in terms of process and we have used direct and directive language to inject a sense of pace.
"We are sorry if this has caused offence or been construed as a lack of compassion or respect. Our aim is to create a cohesive team and an effective organisation and we will reflect on how we can achieve this while continuing to strive for the very best care for the people of Walsall, which they deserve."
