More ex-colleagues join Health boss in department

Tuesday 07 January 2020

More ex-colleagues of Jersey’s Health boss took up senior roles in the department less than six months after the recruitment of two former UK workmates as interim staff sparked outrage, Express has learned.

Martin Warnette, who worked with Director General Caroline Landon at Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, was appointed Intermedaite Care Modernisation Manager in October 2019.

Meanwhile, Hilary Lucas, who worked with Ms Landon at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, has become Jersey’s Director of Health Modernisation. 

Government officials have denied any conflicts of interest arising from either appointment.

Pictured: Government officials said no conflicts of interest were identified with either appointment.

The recruitment of Mr Warnette and Ms Lucas came despite outcry over the recruitment over two other former colleagues of Ms Landon to senior consultancy posts last year, fuelling political moves to enhance transparency around interim workers’ wages and appointment processes.

One such appointment was that of Ms Landon’s former colleague of almost a decade, Charlotte Hall, which was revealed by Express in June.

The Senior Nurse was handed a 12-week consultancy contract worth £45,000 plus accommodation and flights, allowing her to commute to the UK every fortnight.

She was the sole candidate considered for the job, which was not advertised either locally or on the mainland.

Weeks later, details of a £42,000 six-month contract handed to another NHS colleague of the Health Director emerged.

Andrew Carter was recommended for the £350-a-day role – just shy of the threshold needed for States Employment Board (SEB) approval – by Ms Landon before she even started her new role.

Pictured: Ms Landon appointed her ex-colleague Ms Hall to a 12-week role worth £750 a day last year.

A government spokesperson confirmed that Ms Hall left her post as planned in October, but Mr Carter’s LinkedIn profile describes him as still holding the role of ‘Governance and Performance Manager’ after 10 months.

Express has now learned that, shortly after Ms Hall’s departure, another former colleague of Ms Landon took on a governance role: Mr Warnette.

“Martin Warnette was appointed to support the Medical Director in providing additional support to the care groups to implement and embed the clinical governance framework, specifically in the area of risk and compliance,” a spokesperson explained when asked by Express.

Despite the seniority of the role, which is labelled ‘Intermediate Care Modernisation Manager’ on Mr Warnette’s LinkedIn page, there was no open recruitment.

Instead, Mr Warnette was employed as a nurse through the staff bank, on a zero hours contract.

The government did not provide details of his pay when asked, simply responding that he “is on staff bank nursing rates and is paying for his own accommodation and travel”.

Pictured: Mr Warnette was hired to his role as 'Intermediate Care Modernisation Manager' via a nurse staff bank.

They said no conflicts of interest were identified at the time of his appointment despite his previous working relationship with Ms Landon, which was also said to be the case for Ms Hilary Lucas.

She started in the role of Director of Health Modernisation on 4 November, and has been appointed for a period of six months, agreed by the SEB.

When asked for more detail about her role, a government spokesperson explained: “The role is to lead the continued transformation of health and social care in Jersey, to ensure the best health and social care for islanders in the future. 

“Ms Lucas is paid on an agreed day rate of £750 a day, and in line with other interim appointments across government, travel and accommodation is booked via the agreed government travel provider.

“Caroline Landon was not involved in the recruitment process for Hilary Lucas. Ms Lucas was recruited via an executive search agency and was one of four candidates put forward for consideration and interview. 

“Interviews were conducted by the Chief Nurse and the HR Director for Health and Community Services.” 

Neither appointment was announced publicly – despite Ms Lucas’s predecessor being introduced in a government press release.

The appointment process isn’t the only area of the recruitments that raises questions.

Health and Community Services published a report entitled ‘Governance Fit for the Future’ in November 2018, which stated that “further consultancy advice should not be required on governance arrangements”.

Despite this, many of the job descriptions of the former colleagues of Ms Landon, whose recruitment was announced one month after the report’s publication, include references to governance.