Rose Gibb case underlines cost of failure for NHS managers

Ms Gibb, who was forced out as chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust in the aftermath least 90 deaths from C difficile, lost her case despite both the trust and the Department of Health admitting in court there were elements of unfairness in the way she was treated, and the judge determining that there had been a breach of trust between Ms Gibb and the trust.

Awkward questions

The judgement will have come as a relief to the DH and NHS South East Coast, who both faced awkward questions about their role. Indeed, by the end of the case the judge said it was still unclear whether the strategic health authority had approved the payment.

It skewers the culture of pay-offs, and will lead to more senior managers deemed responsible for serious failures being taken through formal disciplinary procedures rather than given a cheque and allowed to leave quietly. The salaries are high, but so is the price of failure.

At a time when public sector managers are under attack over their pay and pensions, offering excessive cash risks a serious backlash.

‘Boards and strategic health authorities will have less latitude to force someone out because their face no longer fits if they cannot muster credible evidence of performance failures’

One consequence of the current climate will be that boards and strategic health authorities will have less latitude to force someone out because their face no longer fits if they cannot muster credible evidence of performance failures.

The Rose Gibb saga has damaged the reputation of NHS managers and distressed the relatives of those who died. All that would have been avoided if the trust board had taken the principled position of invoking disciplinary procedures rather than trying to cut a deal. Then Ms Gibb would have had the chance to defend herself, the public would have believed that she had been held accountable, and she would still have had the right to pursue a claim for unfair dismissal if she had been sacked.