THE troubled hospital trust which manages Kidderminster Hospital is getting a new chief executive.

Matthew Hopkins, who stepped down from his last job at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals earlier this year in response to their worsening financial performance, will be Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust's new chief executive.

The announcement was made by chairman of the acute trust Sir David Nicholson who said the circumstances leading to Matthew’s decision to leave were well known before he was invited for interview.

“Matthew’s willingness to accept accountability, his attitude and his determination to learn from these setbacks helped to confirm to me that has the insight, commitment and resilience to provide the leadership that our hospitals need," he said.

“His appointment has been backed by our regulators NHS Improvement who were represented on the interview panel.

He added that he has "every confidence" Matthew is "the right person" for the job.

Matthew Hopkins joined the NHS as a nurse before moving into health management, taking on senior roles in a number of large NHS organisations in London.

He has been chief executive of two large acute trusts – Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and, most recently, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals which he led out of quality special measures in 2017.

On leaving his las job Matthew said: "As chief executive it was right that I accepted accountability for the situation – and the lessons learned will be valuable in shaping my approach to helping Worcestershire Acute plan and deliver a robust financial plan for the future.”

He admitted the acute trust faces a number of challenges but said it also has a huge amount of potential and dedicated hard-working people.

“The trust, under the leadership of Michelle McKay, has clearly made real progress in building a more positive culture through its 4ward programme," he said.

"I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to involve our patients, our staff and our partners in driving further rapid improvement in our services.”