THE county’s hospital trust has appointed its first managing director after taking on a chief executive who is already in charge of three other NHS trusts.

It has been revealed that Stephen Collman will become the first managing director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust later this year.

The changes to the top at the county’s struggling hospitals come after its governing NHS trust became the latest member of the Foundation Group – a partnership between four hospital trusts - but with them all sharing the same chief executive.

The county’s hospital trust joined up South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, George Eliot NHS Hospital Trust and Wye Valley NHS Trust to become the latest member of the Foundation Group – all of which share the same chief executive Glen Burley.

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Mr Collman is the current chief executive at Norfolk Community Health and Care Trust and was also chief operation officer at the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and was chief operating officer at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.

The appointment of Mr Collman was revealed to staff across the NHS trust last week.

The appointment of the trust’s own managing director forms part of the agreement made by Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust to remain its own organisation and keep its own board while joining the Foundation Group.

Glen Burley became the latest chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust taking over from Matthew Hopkins after four years in the role who left to join Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

Russell Hardy also joined the trust alongside Mr Burley and takes up the role as chair of the hospital trust’s board – a role he also serves for the Foundation Group’s other three partner trusts.

Mr Burley said he was delighted to make his return to Worcestershire after 16 years having previously served as the hospital trust’s chief operating officer and deputy chief executive.

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Mr Burley said the partnership between the four trusts would have “many benefits.”

He said: “The Foundation Group model has lots of recognised benefits and alongside partners, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust and Wye Valley NHS Trust, this expansion is going to strengthen all of our abilities to share best practice and improve patient pathways.

“Within the Foundation Group there is a strong culture for driving continuous improvements and championing innovation, and with all the great things happening in Worcestershire’s hospitals, other partners are really going to benefit from the trust’s full membership.”

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust was rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission in 2019 whereas George Eliot NHS Hospital Trust was given a ‘requires improvement’ rating by the CQC last month and Wye Valley NHS Trust received the same rating in 2020.

The former chief executive Matthew Hopkins left to become boss of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

It was during Mr Hopkin’s tenure that the acute trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and the Alex in Redditch, moved out of special measures in 2020, five years on from an inadequate rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).