In what is becoming an all too familiar tale, the NHS has chosen to reward the failure of one of its senior managers. But this time it is not just a handsome payoff. The Telegraph reports that:
"[Ruth Harrison], a former hospital chief executive who was at the center of a super bug outbreak which left 33 people dead,is working for the NHS again, despite receiving a £140,000 pay-off just over a year ago...[She is to be] paid £52,000 on a short-term contract to head a review into maternity and children's services at Epsom and St Helier Hospital in Surrey, which could lead to the closure of wards."
The Healthcare Commission's report into the outbreak of clostridium difficile at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, cited serious faults in her leadership. It said the trust "compromised the safety of patients by failing to make the right decisions" and that it "rejected the proper advice of their own experts". It recommended the leadership change.
Only within the NHS can those dismissed for failure find new employment before the ink on their dismissal letter has even dried.