Chairman plotted to oust hospital boss - tribunal
BBCA hospital chairman conspired with other senior figures to oust the chief executive after she accused him of bullying and harassment, a tribunal judge has ruled.
Dr Susan Gilby was found to have been unfairly dismissed by the Countess of Chester Hospital, where she was in charge from 2018 to 2022.
Judge Dawn Shotter found chairman Ian Haythornthwaite and three other senior hospital figures worked together on "Project Countess", whose aim was to remove Dr Gilby from her post.
A hearing to determine the compensation award will be held in May, with salary, pension contributions and legal costs expected to cost the trust millions of pounds.
The tribunal described the chairman of the trust, Ian 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".
The chairman, non-executive director Ken Gill and the human resources director Nicola Price exchanged private email address and WhatsApp and phone numbers to discuss Project Countess.
The failure of Mr Haythornthwaite to disclose emails and other correspondence between them "points to a deliberate intention to hide documents" which would have shown his "true part" in Dr Gilby's departure, the tribunal found.
It was also "more likely than not" that he was involved in the deletion of other relevant documents.
'Glowing appraisals'
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 had received glowing appraisals and been praised for her role leading the trust through the Covid-19 pandemic.
But Dr Gilby told the tribunal that, in the months after Mr Haythornthwaite was appointed as chairman in 2021, she became concerned with his behaviour.
She told the hearing that at a July 2022 meeting with him, 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."
The breakdown in relations between Mr Haythornthwaite – a former BBC accountant – and Dr Gilby led to the creation of the Project Countess group, which also included Ros Fallon, another non- executive director.
EPA'Sham case'
Dr Gilby was offered a payoff if she dropped her allegations of bullying and harassment against the chairman.
She refused to do so, describing it as "an absolute red line for me," adding: "If this means there can be no settlement agreement then so be it."
In December 2022 the trust suspended Dr Gilby, citing what the tribunal found were 14 "unspecified allegations... that could not amount to any act of gross misconduct".
The trust has never laid out the detailed reasons for her suspension, instead it "built up a sham case" against her, ruled Judge Shotter.
'Significant financial losses'
Dr Gilby resigned days after her suspension and launched legal action against the trust.
In a statement to the BBC she said that 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 my integrity so I put my faith in the judicial system".
"I hope that this judgement will give others the courage to do so. The time for these behaviours to be acceptable within the NHS is over," she added.
A hearing to determine damages will be held in May.
Salary, pension contributions and legal costs are expected to cost the trust millions of pounds.
Mr Haythornthwaite remains chairman of the Countess of Chester trust.
Ken Gill, Ros Fallon and Nicola Price have all left.
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