THE new chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is to be Matthew Hopkins.

Mr Hopkins takes over from Michelle McKay, who was appointed at the start of 2017, but who announced this summer she was leaving to take up a job in Australia.

Mr Hopkins joined the NHS as a nurse before moving into management.

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 special measures in 2017.

Trust chairman Sir David Nicholson said: “Matthew is a highly experienced NHS leader with a strong track record of delivering significant improvements in quality and safety of patient care.

“His dynamic leadership has transformed a number of trusts facing very similar challenges to those we face.

Mr Hopkins said: “I am delighted to be joining Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust faces a number of challenges, and it is clear to me that it also has a huge amount of potential and dedicated hard-working people."

Matthew is due to take up his new role in January. He stepped down from his post at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals earlier this year, in response to their worsening financial performance.

He 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.”

Sir David Nicholson added: “The circumstances leading to Matthew’s decision to leave his previous role were well known to me before he was invited for interview."