Dorothy Hosein has today (20 January 2021) stepped down as chief executive of the beleaguered East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust following a period of ill health.
Medical director and deputy chief executive, Dr Tom Davis, continue as interim chief executive while the recruitment process for a new chief executive takes place.
The process to recruit a permanent chief executive for the Trust is expected to start at the end of this month, with the appointment of a successful candidate expected in April 2021.
Dorothy joined the Trust as interim chief executive in 2018, and was appointed to the role permanently in 2019.
In October EEAST was placed in ‘special measures’ after inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) uncovered a culture of bullying and sexual harassment at the trust.
Read:Ambulance service placed in ‘special measures’ to make drastic improvements
Nicola Scrivings, Chair of EEAST said: “On behalf of the Board of EEAST, I would like to thank Dorothy for her leadership which has enabled the Trust to deliver significant improvements to its performance during her time as chief executive.
“Under her leadership, the Trust moved from being the worst performing ambulance trust in England to one that regularly met and even outperformed national standards.
“Staff recruitment and finances also improved, and new approaches to leadership meant the Trust was as well positioned as possible to meet the challenges of COVID-19.
“We send Dorothy our warmest wishes for the future.”
Dorothy said: “It is with great sadness that I have decided to relinquish my post to focus on my wellbeing – staff are at the heart of this service, and it has been an absolute pleasure working with employees of EEAST.
“I am hugely proud and thankful for the work we have done together to improve patient safety and experience, and I wish every success for EEAST in the future.
Bedford and Kempston MP, Mohammad Yasin, said: ”I am sorry to hear Dorothy Hosein has stepped down for health and wellbeing reasons and wish her a speedy recovery.
“This now leaves a hole in the leadership of the beleaguered Trust which has been beset with problems for the best part of a decade.
“The Trust will never be able to tackle the very serious problems that came out of the CQC report in September until they can employ a permanent CEO who can implement the necessary top down culture change.
“I have long called for the EEAST to be broken up – it’s far too large an area to manage and I haven’t changed my mind on that.”
