Matthew Kershaw, recently appointed as the chief executive at Mayday Hospital, has announced a series of appointments to, according to the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, “strengthen the senior team”.

Kershaw took over as “interim CEO” on October 1, as John Goulston, the Trust’s chief executive for six years, retired. At the time Kershaw’s appointment was announced, the NHS said that he was “joining the Trust on a fixed-term contract agreed with NHS Improvement while the Trust reviews its management structure”.

It seems that after barely six weeks of intensive structure reviewing, Kershaw has decided he needs to make one promotion and two senior hires, including a “director of business development, strategy and performance”. This, remember, at a trust that runs a large National Health Service hospital…

The Croydon Health Service Trust’s announcement, last week, said that Dr Nnenna Osuji is to become Kershaw’s deputy chief executive while “continuing in her role as the Trust’s Medical Director”. Lee McPhail “will step in as chief operating officer”, and Melissa Morris “will become director of business development, strategy and performance”.

Mayday’s most senior medic: Dr Nnenna Osuji

Dr Osuji, a haematologist, has been a consultant Mayday for more than 13 years, and the Trust’s medical director since 2015, making her the most senior medic at the Trust, sitting on the Board to provide clinical input on all management decisions.

“Her new responsibilities will include providing support to the chief executive in leading the organisation and working with the Trust’s partners – both within the borough and across South West London – to further improve services for local people,” the Trust said.

McPhail was seconded to Croydon almost as soon as Kershaw arrived at his new job. COO would usually be seen as another role which would be more business-orientated,

McPhail had previously worked at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, but was called in at Mayday “to cover the vacant director of strategy and transformation role”. Because what large NHS hospital can afford to be without a director for strategy and transformation, after all?

McPhail has “more than 18 years in the health service and substantial experience of running large acute trusts”, the press release stated, though it did not mention whether his work at Lewisham overlapped with Kershaw’s own time in charge there, when – apparently at the bidding of Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt – he proposed the abolition of the trust and the closure of the Lewisham Hospital. These moves were both abandoned, in the case of the hospital closure after an embarrassing defeat in the law courts for the Conservative-led Government. And Kershaw.

Making moves: ‘interim’ CEO Matthew Kershaw

Morris has worked for the Croydon NHS Trust since 2015. According to the press statement, “As director of operations for planned care and performance at the Trust, Melissa has pioneered Croydon’s new Joint Referral Unit to help neighbouring trusts reduce long waits for patients.”

Samantha Goldberg, who joined Croydon as director of operations for emergency care just in March this year, has already decided to leave (she’s off to Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust).

“A replacement process to appoint a new deputy chief operating officer has commenced and is expected to be complete before Samantha leaves at the end of January 2019,” the statement said.

“We would like to congratulate Samantha and wish her the very best in her new role,” Kershaw said.

Samantha Goldberg: to leave Croydon NHS Trust in January

“We will be sorry to say farewell, but I am pleased that she will be here to see the opening of the new Emergency Department at Croydon University Hospital. This incredible facility will transform our care for people in the borough and will give our staff the ED they deserve, so Sam should be very proud of the legacy she has helped to build here in Croydon.

“Samantha and Melissa have led real improvements in waiting times at the Trust, both for planned care services which are some of shortest in London and in emergency care where our performance on the four-hour standard has improved over recent months despite continued challenges and very high demand.

“Melissa has made a very significant contribution to our improvement in planned care services and as well as continuing that, will help develop our planning and performance management processes internally and our collaborative work with acute hospital partners.

“In our new structure, Nnenna’s insight and experience will be invaluable as Deputy CEO and she will continue to make sure the views of clinical staff are heard at the very highest level of the Trust as we pick up the pace to further improve our services for patients as well as our support for staff.

“Lee will have day-to-day responsibility for our operational delivery, working closely with the clinical directorates in managing our full range of acute and community services but will also continue his work on closer working with Croydon CCG and our partners in the One Croydon Alliance.

“Taken together these roles will help us continue our journey to improve the care we provide our patients, the support to our staff and our work for more integrated care in Croydon.”

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