Failing mental health hospital boss steps down as government tells NHS commissioners to remove hundreds of patients
Vivienne McVey has suddenly retired from Northampton's St Andrew's Hospital amid safety concerns and police investigations
By Sarah Ward
The chief executive of Northampton’s St Andrew’s Hospital has today stood down, hours after the government told NHS commissioners to remove hundreds of patients from the facility.
At just before 4pm Vivienne McVey, who has been in charge of the hospital since 2022, sent out a letter to staff saying that she is to retire and ‘let someone else continue the work to transform St Andrews’.
The private hospital, which is run by a charity, has been engulfed in scandal for the past few months after being placed into special measures by health bosses following an inadequate inspection by the Care Quality Commission last summer, which banned new patients being placed into the hospital’s care. The NHS began enforcement action in December saying there were reasonable grounds to suspect the charity, which also runs hospitals in Birmingham and Essex, was in breach of its licence.
This is against the backdrop of police investigations into allegations of abuse by staff against patients, with a number of employees being sacked. And the charity closed down Workbridge, a centre for adults with complex needs, citing financial difficulties, with the deputy chief executive saying the future of the whole organisation was at risk.
Today NHS England published a letter online from the Midlands regional medical director Dr Jessica Sokolov, in which it said all commissioners must identify alternative placements for patients. There are currently 287 patients being treated there.
It said:
“This follows on from enforcement action announced in December, however we still do not have adequate assurance that patient safety is improving at a rate it needs to and our concerns about patient safety remain; we therefore must act now to ensure patients receive the care and treatment they deserve.
“This decision has been carefully considered alongside the wider ongoing work at St Andrew’s to improve patient safety and rectify unacceptable issues identified at the Northampton site.
“We recognise the anxiety this will cause for everyone involved and will do everything in our power to ensure this handover is managed safely, sensitively and efficiently for all patients and families. We anticipate that moving patients will take place in phases, based on individual care needs.”
Dr Sokolov said an independent team of mental health, learning disability and autism clinicians from NHS England have started work on the Northampton site to provide round the clock oversight and assurance.
Leader of the Labour group on West Northamptonshire Council Sally Keeble, who is a former government minister, called the situation ‘catastrophic’ and was critical of Keir Starmer’s government, saying it should have acted sooner.
In the letter to staff Ms McVey said:
“There is no doubt that the last few years have been challenging, but together we have reshaped the charity to focus our care on the people who really need us most.
“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together and for everyone’s commitment to St Andrew’s.”
She did not offer an apology for any of the issues that have arisen under her leadership.
Her letter was followed by another an hour later by the chair of governors Steve Gray. He stepped into the role a few months ago, after the previous chair, former lib dem minister Paul Burstow, quietly departed.
Expressing his thanks to Ms McVey he said:
“Vivienne has been a dedicated leader; the driving force behind the work to overhaul the charity, addressing some of the long term issues that St Andrew’s has faced and the work to improve our quality of care.”
He said the board would appoint a new interim chief executive.
Cllr Keeble says the situation is shocking and has blasted the charity for its lack of transparency saying ‘There appears to have been a very dramatic failure of governance.’
She said there were also questions to be asked of the various NHS providers who had placed patients into the care of St Andrew’s.
She told NN Journal this afternoon:
“St Andrews has not been forthcoming with information. I have repeatedly asked about what steps are being put in place; I have asked about safeguarding and restraint. There has been a complete lack of information coming out and there has been quite a lot of pushback.
“For a large organisation to fail in this way is completely shocking. There must be a lot of lessons to learn.”
She added:
“I am more than dismayed that the government has failed to act sooner. I think there should have been earlier and cleared interventions. I think it is really important that there are public explanations about what has happened.”
It’s no more unsafe with vile staff than NHFT hospitals and CMHT’s. All dreadful to be a patient at.
Having worked at this location and having family members treated here, my memories are of a very respected and well run organisation, so it is very sad to see what has happened to it. I just hope they can turn things around and bring it back to what it once was.