27 October 2009

Gwen Nuttall has been appointed as acting chief executive at West Suffolk Hospital to guide the organisation through the crucial final stages of its bid for Foundation Trust status.

Ms Nuttall joined West Suffolk as executive chief operating officer in 2004. Following an approach by the trust board, she has accepted the position of acting chief executive with effect from January 2010.

The appointment comes as the hospital looks to complete its application for Foundation Trust status. Discussions with independent regulator Monitor have now restarted following a successful bid for additional preparation time granted earlier this year. A final decision is now due following a vital meeting between the hospital board and Monitor’s board in March.

During the coming months, Ms Nuttall will work closely with outgoing chief executive Chris Bown to fine tune details of the application and steer the hospital through the final stages of the bid and the crucial board-to-board meeting.

Roger Quince, trust chairman, said: “We are reaching an absolutely vital stage of our journey towards becoming a Foundation Trust. As such, we feel it is essential we have continuity of leadership in place – and are delighted that Gwen has accepted our board’s approach to act as chief executive.

“Gwen has the full and unanimous support of both her fellow executives and our non-executive directors, all of whom feel her extensive knowledge and experience will prove invaluable as our application reaches its conclusion.

`We have every confidence that Gwen will successfully lead us to FT status which, in turn, will bring huge benefits for the patients we serve.`

Mr Bown will leave West Suffolk Hospital at the end of March. Ms Nuttall will act as chief executive until work to appoint a permanent replacement is complete.