Avon and Wiltshire mental health trust appoints new chief executive

The trust was criticised in a separate report last month

A mental health trust which was criticised over staffing levels during a recent restructuring has appointed a new chief executive.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) aired concerns over Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Trust in the summer.

It said it had "serious concerns" about the number of people failing to get treatment during the restructure.

Iain Tulley will join the trust from Devon Partnership NHS Trust in mid-November.

Mr Tulley has been a chief executive for more than a decade and has worked in healthcare for 30 years.

The CQC report found that the trust did protect people from abuse, but that there were not enough staff to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs.

"There were insufficient qualified, skilled experienced staff to meet people's needs," the report said.

The trust was also criticised in a separate report earlier in the year after killings in Swindon by patients in its care in 2007.

Timothy Crook battered his elderly parents Bob and Elsie to death, and Carl James, 21, was killed by his schizophrenic friend Michael Harris.

The trust said some of the problems identified in the CQC report had been resolved and that redesigned services "would bring benefits".

It added the "major redesign of community services" caused "short-term problems".

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust provides specialist mental health services across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.