Liverpool University Hospitals Chief Executive to stand down
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has today announced that its Chief Executive, Steve Warburton is to stand down from his role having served six and a half years in leading the Trust and its predecessor organisation Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
On announcing the decision in an email to the Trust’s more than 12,000 staff, Mr Warburton said:
“It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my professional career to have served for the past six and a half years as firstly the Chief Executive of Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and then latterly for the past two years leading Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
“I have led the organisation through the merger process bringing Aintree University Hospital together with the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals that resulted in the creation of Liverpool University Hospitals, which is now one of the largest University Hospitals in the country.
“Shortly after merger we also delivered the first phase of clinical reconfiguration. We have managed to get the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital construction project on to a sure footing both in terms of construction works and finance, and I have worked with colleagues over the last 18 months as we have navigated four waves of COVID-19.”
“After considerable thought and personal reflection, acknowledging there is never an ideal time for these decisions, now feels like the right point for this change to happen for me personally and for the Trust. Therefore, the time has now come for me to pursue a different challenge within the NHS, including finding a better balance between my work commitments and my family life.
LUHFT Chair, Sue Musson commented:
“On behalf of the Trust Board and the entire organisation I want to offer our sincere gratitude to Steve for all that he has done and all that he has achieved over the last 15 years with Aintree University Hospital and latterly with Liverpool University Hospitals and for the leadership he has provided as Chief Executive over the last six and a half years.
“Steve has been a valued colleague, and we have benefitted from his calm leadership, dedication and loyal service as Chief Executive over the last six and a half years and particularly throughout the pandemic which has been such a challenging time.
“He goes to join the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership with our wholehearted support as he will continue to make an invaluable contribution to the future of health services here in Liverpool.”
Steve will be joining the Integrated Care System, Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, on a secondment in a strategic leadership role.
Sheena Cumiskey, Chief Officer for Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership said: “We are delighted that Steve has chosen to join the Cheshire and Merseyside Health Care Partnership at this crucial time in our development towards becoming a statutory Integrated Care System. Steve has immense knowledge and experience from within our system that will be of great benefit to all our partners and indeed, our community. My colleagues and I are all very much looking forward to working with him.”
In the same briefing to staff the Trust has announced that the highly-respected and vastly experienced Sir David Dalton will join LUHFT as its interim Chief Executive for the next six months.
Sir David is recognised for being a pioneering chief executive and one of the most influential NHS leaders. He brings unrivalled experience and a track record of delivery in the areas of patient safety, quality improvement, driving up standards of care and leading culture change.
In the coming weeks the Trust will begin the process for the recruitment of a substantive chief executive.