TV troubleshooter Gerry Robinson 'good for Rotherham Hospital' says ex-boss

Brian James had recently taken over as Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust chairman when businessman Sir Gerry Robinson filmed troubleshooting at the hospital for the TV programme Can Gerry Robinson fix the NHS?

The programme sparked criticism of Mr James and the hospital management.

But Mr James, talking to a health service magazine, said: “Well, it was personally bruising. But the impact on, and benefit to, the organisation was considerable.

“I was a new chief executive at the time, having taken over a hospital that needed to change the way it was thinking. I saw Gerry as a way of helping us think about delivering high-quality care in a business-like way.

“It had a cathartic effect. Within a year the situation had been transformed. “Consultants, other clinicians, managers and staff agreed that what was shown on television was simply not acceptable. So it definitely moved things on.”

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