Hospital bosses blasted

The Information Commissioner has issued stern criticism to the hospital Trust in the way it handled the affair relating to Annette Sergeant's payoff.

It said the East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust got itself in a legal tangle between the Data Protection Act, Human Rights Act and the Freedom of Information Act.The Trust's decision to pay Ms Sergeant an 'above legal entitlement' severance payout sparked a string of letters from MPs demanding the former chief executive's payout be made public under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.

But Trust bosses refused to reveal details, although in July they announced that Ms Sergeant, who was being paid 135,000 a year, was given a 231,000 payoff.

Chiefs relied upon Section 22 of the Act which it claimed meant it did not have to reveal the payoff until it published its annual accounts.

In a letter to the Trust the Office of the Information Commissioner said: "We are not, in any event, satisfied as to the reasoning behind the Trust's application of Section 22 as an exemption.

"I invite the Trust to note that just because the information is intended to be published at some future date does not exclude careful consideration as to whether it is reasonable to retain the information."

It said the figure should have been made public earlier and said future requests under the Act should be dealt with 'promptly and comprehensively'.

Ms Sergeant was put in charge of running hospitals in Eastbourne and Hastings in 2002 but left last September after the damning findings of a Healthcare Commission report were revealed.

It was riddled with allegations of bullying and harassment, with the former chief executive accused of being 'aggressive in meetings' with a 'demanding' management style.

Ms Sergeant was also slammed in the report for being a distant figure who other staff only knew from seeing her photograph.

At the time of the findings, the debt-ridden trust had just a one-star rating.

In September 2005, it was announced Kim Hodgson would take over the post despite Ms Sergeant still being on the payroll although 'absent for personal reasons'.

She was later appointed in a temporary role as acting chief executive of West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust but has since left that position.

John Lewis, Trust chairman, said: "The sum paid was in recognition of the need to draw the leadership matter to a speedy conclusion and thus allow the Trust to move forward with clear vision and leadership."