New chief to take charge of region's hospitals

Phil Morley, current chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will take up his new role on October 18.

He will replace outgoing chief executive Stephen Greep, who is leaving at the beginning of the month to resume his academic interests in archaeology.

Mr Morley said: "I am very happy to be joining Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and excited about the challenges that lie ahead.

"I have already spoken to some of my new colleagues but I am looking forward to meeting as many trust staff as possible following my appointment in October. It is only with their help that we will be able to deliver continuous improvements in patient care."

Mr Morley has a clinical background in haematology and has worked in the health service for 28 years across a variety of organisations including posts at Bradford, Dumfries, Grimsby, London, Nottingham and York.

He has also spent several years working for the Department of Health helping hospitals and other healthcare organisations improve. He was recently nominated for an NHS leadership award in inspiration.

Trust chairman Scilla Smith said: "I am delighted that Phil Morley has accepted our offer to be our new chief executive.

"With his passion for developing high-quality patient services I believe he is the right person to lead our trust at a challenging time for the public sector, and that he will enable positive changes for the benefit of our patients and the population of Hull and East Yorkshire."

The organisation Mr Morley joins is one of the largest acute trusts in the UK.

It has 1,422 beds, employs more than 8,000 staff, and has an annual income of about 470m.

One of the trust's most recent developments has been the opening of a privatised unit for kidney patients at Hull Royal Infirmary. It is being run by Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services, which operates 12 similar facilities across the Midlands and the North of England.

Routine dialysis will be provided to more than 400 new and existing patients, who will remain under the care of senior NHS medical staff.

The partnership aims to give patients on dialysis better access to treatment. The unit will operate three sessions per day, six days a week and provide capacity for up to 240 dialysis patients.

The new building replaces the existing haemodialysis facilities at the rear of the infirmary site.