Green finally quits troubled hospital

The chief executive of a scandal–hit Tameside hospital has said she tended her resignation because her position was “no longer helpful to the organisation”.

Christine Green resigned from Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, amid accusations that she presided over a “prevailing culture of failure”.

It is also understood that medical director Tariq Mahmood has stepped down but his resignation was agreed in April.

Ms Green said her tenure had “never been an easy ride” but in a statement she insisted that during her years at the helm Tameside went from being a hospital many said “should be closed down” to a “hospital that is now viewed as having some of the best facilities in the North–West.”

However, three local MPs — Ashton’s David Heyes, whose constituency covers Failsworth, Senton and Reddish’s Andrew Gwynne and Jonathan Reynolds, of Stalybridge and Hyde — who had earlier issued a joint statement urging her to go, said they were “glad” at her departure.

They said: “We have all said on numerous occasions that Tameside Hospital needs a change of leadership, and we are glad that change finally appears to be under way.”

A spokesman for Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said Ms Green had agreed her resignation with the board on June 27 but it was too early to discuss what kind of financial settlement she was due to get following her 15–year tenure.

The trust said it had delayed announcing the decision to allow for proper arrangements to be put in place for “succession planning”.

In a statement, Ms Green said: “You will have all read the newspapers and heard the media reports and speculation about my departure. The facts of the matter are that the board and I agreed my resignation on June 27 as it had become clear that my position as chief executive was no longer helpful to the organisation.
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