Countess of Chester hospital chairman quits after tribunal ruling | UK News

A hospital chairman has resigned after a tribunal found he had plotted to oust the trust’s chief executive.

Ian Haythornthwaite quit his post at the Countess of Chester hospital after a tribunal found Dr Susan Gilby had been unfairly dismissed.

It heard Mr Haythornthwaite and others had conspired against her after she accused him of harassment and bullying.

In a statement after the judgment earlier, Mr Haythornthwaite said he had decided to resign with “immediate effect” and in “the best interests of the trust”.

The tribunal described Mr Haythornthwaite as an “inaccurate historian” who “did not give credible evidence”.

He was found, along with three others, to have made what was described as “an attempt to mask the behind the scenes machinations” that were being made to remove Susan Gilby “to build the appearance of performance and misconduct allegations”.

Susan Gilby, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, was appointed chief executive of the trust in September 2018, two months after Lucy Letby had been arrested.

She told the hearing that at a July 2022 meeting, Mr Haythornthwaite had “launched into a fierce verbal attack” on her, “banging his hand on the table at various junctures to emphasise the points he wanted to make”.

She added: “He focused repeatedly on what he said was ‘wrong’ with me. His behaviour was threatening and upsetting. It was bullying, pure and simple.”

When she was suspended, she decided to resign and pursue legal action against the trust.

Speaking after the tribunal found she had been unfairly dismissed, Dr Gilby said the last few years “had been nothing short of torture at times”.

“My career has been taken from me with no justification and the financial losses we have suffered are significant,” she said.

She said she was “not prepared to compromise [her] integrity” and had put her faith in the judicial system.

Mr Haythornthwaite, a former finance director and pro-vice chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire, said: “I have made the decision to step down with immediate effect from my role as chair of the trust.

“I have made this decision in the best interests of the trust so that the focus of the organisation can continue to be on delivering the best possible care to patients.”