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A chief executive is taking on a new role at a major trust on the other side of the country. 

Matthew Hopkins has been announced as CEO for Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust, the largest trust in the East of England.

He has a record of leading struggling acute providers, including as current chief executive at Worcester Acute Hospitals Trust, which has dropped its “inadequate” rating under his tenure.

Mr Hopkins has also led Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust, another very troubled provider, and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust.

There will be plenty to get stuck into at his new trust in Essex, which has struggled with one of the worst cancer backlogs in the country.

Mid and South Essex FT has only existed since 2020, when a controversial merger combined three trusts with various performance, quality and financial problems.

Mr Hopkins will be replacing acting chief executive Hannah Coffey, who has been in the role since last summer.

Before that, Clare Panniker – now NHS England regional director for East of England – was in charge. 

PFI’s long shadow reaches the High Court

The debt arising from private finance initiatives entered into during the Blair years has been a millstone around many trusts.

Many trusts have had the consolation of receiving high-quality facilities that are maintained by facilities management contractors to a high specification (for which they are very well paid).

The Whittington Health Trust in north London may well not count itself among their number, however.

It has had some difficulties with its PFI agreement, and the company set up to manage it. Such difficulty, in fact, that in the summer of 2020 the PFI provider collapsed into administration and the PFI agreement was terminated.

Since then, the trust and the administrators for the PFI company have been wrangling over the final compensation for the terminated agreement and over who should pay for work to fix fire safety risks, which helped precipitate the end of both company and agreement.

They have not managed to come to an agreement. And so they turn to law. The administrators for the PFI company have filed a claim at the High Court for compensation of nearly £56m. We await the trust’s response when it files its defence.

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