Our Trust, like many NHS organisations, has a long history of poor financial performance.

For more than a year we have been trying to chart a new course; working hard to keep our patients safe and deliver high quality care in a way which is financially sustainable.

We have had successes including meeting our end of year forecast which was agreed with NHS Improvement, and our staff continue to come up with imaginative ideas as we strive to secure a better future.

Our problem is that we are not changing fast enough and our level of spending is unsustainable. Seven months into this financial year our Quality Cost Improvement Programmes (QCIPs) have delivered a net savings of £3m against a forecast of almost £10m.

We know we need to take more robust action and are introducing a number of measures to help reduce our spending immediately, and buy us time to deliver real, sustainable transformation for the benefit of our residents, our patients, our staff and our money.

For the past fourteen months, our Chief Financial Officer, Nick Swift, has played an invaluable role in drawing up our financial recovery plan, helping us to begin to deliver it and offering us a vision of a more financially viable future. Working alongside our clinical leaders, Nick has also been the driving force behind the development of our clinical strategy.

Nick believes he should be held to account for the fact we are not where we should be financially, and unfortunately he has taken the decision to resign.  

Chris Bown, our interim Chief Execuitve, said: "I'm  disappointed he has decided to leave, but I respect his decision. I would like to pay tribute to Nick. He is a patient-focused leader who has contributede a great deal to our Trust and to the NHS. He will stay with us until February 2020, and we will now begin to find his successor."