Katrina Percy, the former chief executive of troubled Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, has left her new regional strategic advisory role at the trust.
Percy stepped down from her role as chief executive in August, saying her position had become untenable due to ongoing personal media attention, following months of criticism after a string of failings were uncovered at the trust. She moved to a new advisory role at the trust, on the same wage as her previous role.
However, a statement from Southern Health said that since Percy took up the role, the trust has correspondence from the public, patients and families expressing their concerns. “We have listened to all of this feedback and reflected,” the statement said.
“Both the Trust and NHS Improvement believe it is no longer possible for Katrina to continue in her new advisory role. Katrina shares this view and we have worked with NHS Improvement to come to a settlement where she will leave Southern Health with immediate effect, to pursue other opportunities.
“We thank Katrina for her significant contribution to the NHS and we wish her well for the future.
“As a Board we are now making arrangements to continue the important work that Katrina was due to finish. We hope that the organisation can now continue to focus on our primary objective; delivering the best possible care to all those we look after.”
The settlement is believed to be a year’s salary.
In response, the #JusticeforLB campaign, which campaigned for an inquiry into the death of Connor Sparrowhawk, who died at a Southern Health-run unit, said in a tweet that it was “utterly disgraceful” that Percy received any settlement.
