The ambulance trust serving Brighton and Hove has appointed a new chief executive – as the medical director departs along with another member of the board.
Daren Mochrie will take over running the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) from Geraint Davies, who has been acting chief executive since the departure of Paul Sutton last year.
Mr Mochrie has spent nearly 30 years working for the NHS and is currently the director of service delivery for the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Mr Sutton left as criticism grew of the 111 call handling scandal. The trust delayed its handling of thousands of emergency calls using a controversial secret policy as it tried to improve its performance indicators.
The trust was placed in special measures after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection and rated it inadequate.
As Mr Mochrie’s appointment was announced, it emerged that medical director Rory McCrea was to leave the board.
Dr McCrea – founder of Chilvers and McCrea, the chain of GP surgeries that is now part of the Practice Group – left with immediate effect.
And another doctor, Katrina Herren, is also standing down from her role as a non-executive director for personal reasons.
Secamb chairman Sir Peter Dixon said: “I am delighted that we have been able to secure a new chief executive with Daren’s skills and experience and I’m confident he will provide the necessary leadership to support our recovery.”
He said that during the interview process, the interview panel were impressed with Daren’s breadth of knowledge and grasp of the challenges faced by the trust.
A start date has yet to be agreed for Mr Mochrie who was in charge of ambulance provision for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
He has also been a specialist adviser with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), leading four recent CQC inspections of ambulance trusts in England.
Sir Peter added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Geraint for the stability and focus that he has provided during this very difficult period for the trust.”
