Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust chief Paul O'Connor quits

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-32173778

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The chief executive of a Nottinghamshire NHS trust which was placed in "special measures" has left with immediate effect.

Paul O'Connor was appointed two years ago by Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, which runs Newark and King's Mills hospitals.

The trust was criticised in 2013 for its poor performance and last year it was revealed its debts were rising.

The trust said Mr O'Connor had left to pursue "alternative career options".

Concerns over higher than expected death rates at the trust were raised by the Keogh Rapid Response Review.

Staffing levels, training for nurses and poor patient satisfaction also came under the spotlight.

Then in October, a FOI request revealed the trust was paying more than £3.5m a month under a private finance deal to redevelop the King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, near Mansfield.

Chairman, Sean Lyons, thanked Mr O'Connor for helping the trust "on its journey to sustainable recovery" as well as reducing backlogs and improving key services.

"Paul was appointed at a particularly challenging time for the trust," he said.

"He has established and made progress against the trust's quality improvement plan, and has encouraged and supported the Mid-Nottinghamshire Better Together programme to create a successful vanguard application for new models of service provision.