Ex Hospital chief Parry reveals all about sacking decision

The sacked chief executive of Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust has told the Champions Ollie Cowan he will take his dismissal appeal all the way to the High Court.

In an exclusive interview with the Ollie Cowan, Jonathan Parry, said he is meeting with lawyers this week to discuss a legal challenge against the Trust’s decision to uphold his sacking.

He also said he stands by the managerial decisions he made while in charge of the trust – a position he held for 28 years.

Mr Parry was sacked for seven counts of gross misconduct – later reduced to five counts following an appeal hearing – in October last year after a lengthy and costly investigation into the conduct of himself and three other top bosses at the trust.

His colleague Sharon Partington, the now retired head of Human Resources, was also sacked as a result.

Both of them appealed the decision but it was announced last week that their sacking would be upheld.

The Champion understands that none of the four bosses who were originally suspended were allowed to officially know why, on the grounds that the information may reveal who the whistleblowers are. Mr Parry told the Champion: “I’m very disappointed.”

“Despite the outcome of my appeal I am content to stand by the managerial decisions I have made.

“I am limited in what I can say publicly at this time as I am in discussions with my lawyers about a challenge to the disciplinary process and appeal outcome, through the High Court.

“I am proud of what I have achieved over the last 36 years as a senior manager in the National Health Service and I feel especially privileged to have led the Trust for 28 years when the current average tenure of a CEO in the NHS is less than two years.”

Mr Parry revealed that whatever the final outcome of his dismissal is, he has taken the decision to retire at the age of 58. But he vowed to continue to campaign for the ‘fundamental principles’ of the NHS.

With the future roles of both Southport and Ormskirk hospitals the subject of increased speculation, Mr Parry called on staff to fight to maintain local services.

Just last week, MP John Pugh, claimed there are ‘secret plans’ to downgrade Southport A&E into a unit for the town’s elderly and frail. The plans came to light, says the MP, in a ‘NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Cheshire and Merseyside.’

With a reference to such plans, Mr Parry said: “I sincerely hope that everyone will continue to fight to maintain local services of a high quality, in the face of attempts to reduce the range and acuteness of services in Southport and Ormskirk.

“I regret that I and my executive colleagues cannot lead that cause from inside the Trust.

“I have always supported the founding principles of the NHS, defined as available to all according to need and free at the point of use, and I will continue to campaign for those fundamental principles as a newly retired, but long term, resident of Southport.”

On his sacking, Mr Parry told the Champion:  “My family and I would like to thank our friends, colleagues and Trust staff, past and present, who have supported us over the last eighteen months of the investigation and disciplinary process.

“I would like to formally record my thanks to all Trust staff who have worked tirelessly, often in difficult circumstances, to care for patients and relatives and to continuously improve services, both clinical and non-clinical.”

Mr Parry, who was on a salary of £150,000 as chief executive of the hospital trust, was dismissed after more than a year suspended on full pay.

Despite calls for NHS chiefs to reveal why Mr Parry was ever suspended, along with three senior colleagues, in August 2015, they have remained silent.

It could be the case that the facts will only ever emerge if and when Mr Parry takes his dismissal to the High Court.