THE chief executive of Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust has been chosen to take over the hospital hot-seat in Worcestershire.

John Rostill has been announced as the permanent successor to former chief executive Ruth Harrison, who left Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust at the end of February this year.

He spent 30 years working through the ranks in Walsall and will take over in Worcestershire at the beginning of September.

Mr Rostill, aged 56, will need all his experience to tackle the problems facing the trust.

He will need to find ways of making huge financial savings, as well as making money available to pay off the trust's rising debts, which stand at about £7.5m.

Problems

Mr Rostill spent 13 years as chief executive in Walsall, which was awarded three stars in last year's Sunday Times' Good Hospital Guide after two years when it had the dubious distinction of having the worst death rate in Britain.

The trust also hit the headlines last August, when an elderly man was admitted to Walsall Manor Hospital with a broken hip and died 12 days later from dehydration.

Mr Rostill said he was delighted to be coming to Worcestershire and said one of his earliest priorities was to meet as many hospital staff as possible.

"I am looking forward to joining what must be one of the most challenging and stimulating healthcare communities in the country," he said.

Trust chairman Michael O'Riordan said Mr Rostill's track record in senior NHS management was impressive.

"He is renowned as a chief executive, with a genuine commitment to patients and the community and to improving services, and with a proven ability to hit key targets and deliver results," he said.