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David Rosser, a controversial figure in NHS leadership circles, is leaving University Hospitals Birmingham after four years as CEO.

In that time, he oversaw one of the biggest mergers the NHS has seen, of UHB and the former Heart of England Trust, and steered the trust through disproportionate cases of covid.

His tenure has not been without controversy: in 2021, he received a GMC warning but was cleared by a fit and proper person review. This year, he shared his thoughts with HSJ on the HEFT merger, saying UHB had taken over the NHS’ “biggest corporate failure”. 

His departure for a regional digital role, which will see him work with the West Midlands Combined Authority and Birmingham and Solihull integrated care system, comes after months of underperformance at UHB, a Shelford Group trust and one of the largest in England.

Over the past year in particular, the teaching trust has experienced major emergency department performance problems and ambulance delays, with repeated requests from the Department of Health and Social Care to improve.

There have also been serious questions posed about UHB’s leadership – last month, HSJ revealed its leadership style had been described as “insular”. Deputy CEO Jonathan Brotherton is set to take over as interim in January.

Handover risks laid bare

Protracted handovers at accident and emergency department are the clear reason for the huge leap in ambulance waiting times for people suffering strokes and suspected heart attacks in parts of England since the pandemic struck.

The length of waits has quadrupled in four parts of England since the arrival of covid, with the steepest increases in areas where hospitals have the most problematic handover delays.

The variation in category 2 waiting times – which cover serious conditions, such as stroke and suspected heart attacks – is shown in data from local clinical commissioning group level.

Of the 10 patches with the largest increases in average category 2 performance between 2018-19 and 2021-22, four are served by major hospitals which make up NHSE’s “cohort one” of trusts selected for the worst handover problems; and four more are on government’s list of 15 which accounted for the most long handover delays last winter. 

Read our full story with regional analysis here.

Also on hsj.co.uk today

In comment, Ben Collins and Jonty Heaversedge explain what London’s NHS can learn from Singapore, and in this week’s Health Check podcast, we bring you our reaction to Steve Barclay’s first major speech since returning as health and social care secretary, during which HSJ questioned him on his views on NHS funding – namely, is it enough?