CEO to take joint leadership of neighbouring trust

The leadership of a specialist trust in Liverpool is set to be taken over by the chief executive of the city’s main acute provider.

A message to staff seen by HSJ said James Sumner, who leads Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, will also become interim CEO of Liverpool Women’s FT at the end of the year when Kathryn Thomson steps down.  Ms Thomson announced her retirement in May.

There have been long-standing ambitions to move Liverpool Women’s standalone hospital to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital site in the city centre, run by LUHFT, with a possible merger of the organisations.

The relocation remains the ambition, although the trusts are focusing on service integration in the short term.

The message to staff, sent this afternoon by chair Robert Clarke, said: “We have been clear for some time about our preferred future direction of travel for the trust, namely a closer collaboration with the large acute provider of services in the city as we believe this will support the long term clinical and financial sustainability of services for the benefit of women, babies and others who access our services.

“Liverpool Women’s has secured agreement with NHS Cheshire & Merseyside on our ambition to move to a shared CEO model…This is a positive step in providing ongoing stability for Liverpool Women’s.”

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Source: HSJ, 30 August 2023