Rose Gibb takes pay-off fight to Court of Appeal
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by Mary
Graham 
Rose Gibb - the hospital boss in
charge during deadly superbug outbreaks - is back before the courts
today fighting for her £250,000 pay-off.
Her Court of Appeal hearing is
scheduled to last two days.
At the end of 2009 Miss Gibb, who
stepped down as chief executive of hospitals in
Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and Pembury in October 2007, was told
she had won the right to a full appeal in her claim for severance
pay.
That was despite the judge in her
original High Court case ruling she had lost her battle and could
not appeal.
Miss Gibb’s exit from the trust
came just days before a damning report criticised hygiene practices
at hospitals, linked the C-diff bug to 90 deaths between 2004 and
2006.
A severance package worth £250,000
had already been set, but health secretary Alan Johnson intervened
and her pay-off was reduced to £75,000.
Jon Restell, chief executive of
Managers in Partnership, the union handling her case, said: "The
case is likely to be very legalistic and will involve the judge
looking at the legal directions and the emphasis the judge placed
on certain aspects of the original case.
"It will be more about the points
of law, rather than hearing any evidence, but I believe Rose will
go to hear what is said and done."
The union believes that the case
should not have come to court because Miss Gibb wanted to remain in
her post and was prepared to face a disciplinary hearing at the
trust.
Both Miss Gibb’s lawyers and
lawyers for the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust will
make legal arguments on the case before the judge.
Wednesday, March 17 2010
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