Bug hospital boss applied for job

Rose Gibb applied to run hospitals in Greater Manchester

A woman in charge of an NHS trust where 90 patients died in a superbug outbreak was interviewed for the job of running four hospitals in Greater Manchester.

Rose Gibb resigned as chief executive of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust on 5 October before the publication of a critical report.

But in February she had applied to run Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and was shortlisted for the post.

The trust runs hospitals in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and North Manchester.

A hospital trust spokesman said: "We never comment on any candidate, for any post, other than the successful one."

Major outbreaks

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen said he was astonished she was considered to run the hospitals.

"It's absolutely scandalous and clearly somebody's failed to do their job in finding out what's been going on," he said.

"It calls into question the whole credibility of the NHS interview procedure and the fact that people are allowed to go from one job to another and are not held accountable."

A least 90 people died from the spread of Clostridium difficile bug at the Kent trust while Rosie Gibb was its chief executive.

These deaths came over a two-year period, between 2004 and 2006 and within that there were two major outbreaks.

A Healthcare Commission report said a "litany" of errors in infection control had caused the "avoidable tragedy".

The report said nurses at the trust were too rushed to wash hands and left patients to lie in their own excrement.

Ms Gibb left the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust by mutual arrangement.

Kent Police has launched an investigation into whether the trust should be prosecuted for the deaths.