Two more directors exit trust where ‘poor behaviour was tolerated’

Two non-executive directors have left the board of a mental health trust just a few months after the early departure of its chair.

HSJ understands Janet Bailey, a non-executive director appointed in January 2022 and also a senior nurse and academic, was suspended by the trust and her three-year term was not renewed.

Another NED, Alison Geeson, who is a senior lecturer in mental health nursing at Wolverhampton University, resigned last week. This was described as “unexpected” by sources within the trust.

Ms Geeson has been an NED since 2020 and was Freedom to Speak Up Lead and Wellbeing Lead for the board.

In an internal email seen by HSJ, interim chair Philip Gayle announced her resignation to staff and wrote that it was with a “heavy heart” he informed staff of Ms Geeson’s decision to step down, which she felt was “the best decision for her at this time”.

The 2024 staff survey results, published on Thursday, also saw a decline at BCHFT across numerous key measures. The proportion of staff recommending the trust as a place to work fell from 58 per cent to 52 per cent, far below the 65 per cent national average. 

The trust also reported the lowest in England for staff agreeing that colleagues “are understanding and kind to one another”, with 69 per cent agreeing. 

In an internal email to staff as scores were published, BCHFT CEO Marsha Foster said: “The overall picture indicates that we still have a lot of work to do to address the challenges we face.

”We understand for some of you, your experience of working here is positive, but we also know that for others there are significant areas where things are not working as well as they should.” Ms Foster told staff the trust was “committed to making improvements”.

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Source: HSJ, 14 March 2025