Hospitals' boss to go

David Jackson was today expected to announce that he will be taking "early retirement" from the £135,000-a-year chief executive's post at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The news comes just one day after Prime Minister Tony Blair blamed Trust bosses for its £11.3 million cash crisis.

The timing is certain to fuel speculation that Mr Jackson, 57, has been pushed out as the Government searches for scapegoats to take the blame for the breakdown of its flagship Foundation Trust scheme in Bradford.

Mr Jackson insisted in December he would "absolutely not" be resigning over the Trust's financial problems.

Two key players have already gone: Trust finance director Paul Earp resigned in October and its chairman, John Ryan, was sacked in December by watchdog Monitor following revelations of the enormous debt.

In an exclusive interview in yesterday's Telegraph & Argus, Mr Blair pointedly blamed bosses of the flagship Foundation Trust for the cash crisis at Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's hospitals.

Mr Blair said it was not the Foundation system but the way it had been managed in Bradford that had led to the problems. But Trust bosses believe it is the way the Foundation scheme was funded and unexpected costs brought about by changes in Government policy which led to the crisis.

Mr Jackson, who oversaw the three-star trust's transition to Foundation status, was awarded a CBE for his work in the health service last year.

A source close to the Trust claimed: "Mr Jackson has been considering retirement from the NHS for some time but wanted to ensure continuity and stability for the hospitals as they prepared to become a new Foundation Trust.

"However, now that tough waiting list targets have been achieved early and a robust financial recovery plan drawn up to strengthen the Trust's financial position in the future, he feels that it's the right time for both himself and the Trust to move on."

Today former chairman John Ryan suggested that Mr Jackson's departure may not have been wholly his decision.

He said: "If this is a personal decision, I would support David Jackson in making that decision. But I think there may have been pressure. There's a lot of pressure on Bradford Teaching Hospitals and people seem intent on making it responsible for not only the £11.3 million deficit but the fiasco which is now Foundation status.

"I am disappointed for Bradford Teaching Hospitals. David is one of the most experienced chief executives in the health service. He is highly rated and if anyone could get Bradford out of this position he would be the one I would choose.

"Bradford seems to have been hung out to dry by the Government and others. The people in senior positions at the Trust have had to bear the consequences of that. It's a great loss for the Trust. I would like to see David go out on a high note because he has dedicated his life to the health service and Bradford has done extremely well under him. It's Foundation status that's changed."

But Bradford MPs said Mr Jackson's departure was "inevitable."

Bradford West MP Marsha Singh said: "It was probably inevitable once the cuts programme came in and once it was known the Trust was in the red while making an application to become a Foundation Trust. From that point people have looked to put the blame squarely on the management.

"Health workers' jobs are on the line because of some of the mismanagement that occurred. Within that context someone had to carry the can."

Bradford North MP Terry Rooney said it was "a good thing" Mr Jackson had stepped down.

"It's a shame because David Jackson did a superb job for years but things have come off the rails in the last eight months.

"I think it would have been much better for him and the Trust if he had gone at the same time as the chairman. It's a good thing he has left but it leaves a void and we have to fill that as soon as possible."

Bradford Teaching Hospitals Unison senior convenor Amandeep Singh said: "We feel the Foundation status application should not have been entered into too hastily which is what happened. A much more prudent approach would have helped prevent getting into this amount of debt.

"I think the Trust was chasing the benchmark status that comes with Foundation application and failed to see what the repercussions could be if they went into it head on.

"Cutting ties from Whitehall was the biggest thing the Trust was entering into in its history because it had always been funded centrally. It could have been handled a lot better.

"There needs to be a clear change in strategy for reducing some of the debt. We still have not seen the recovery plan but it seems the Trust will continue on the line of trying to claw back money through ward closures and possibly more job losses."

Mr Jackson, who earns at least £135,000, has spent more than 35 years in the NHS and has been in Bradford for 13 years. He was not available for comment today.