Dr Anthony Marsh: East of England Ambulance Service chief steps down

Dr Anthony Marsh was interim chief executive of East of England Ambulance Service while also chief executive of the West Midlands Ambulance Service

The interim chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS), who had been criticised over his pay, has stepped down.

Dr Anthony Marsh will remain chief executive of the West Midlands Ambulance Service after previously combining both roles.

The Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News first reported that Dr Marsh had left his role.

Dr Marsh had been appointed to the EEAS in December 2013.

The EEAS NHS Trust said it was in the process of a recruiting a new chief executive.

Last month more than 600 people signed a petition urging Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to keep Dr Marsh in post.

The ambulance service covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk

It said the loss of Dr Marsh would "clearly impact morale".

The EEAS said in a statement: "Anthony Marsh officially returned to the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust on 5 August and, in the short interim period, our deputy chief executive Sandy Brown will be covering the CEO role.

"The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is in the process of recruiting a new chief executive. The final interviews have been completed and the Trust is in the process of agreeing final terms and arrangements for an appointment. We will make an announcement when this appointment can be confirmed, but the Trust is aiming to have the new CEO in post in August."

Fraer Stevenson, UNISON branch secretary for staff at the EEAS, said she had "built a sound working relationship" with Dr Marsh and added: "Although we didn't agree on everything, we had an honest, trust-based relationship which enabled us together to bring in many supportive changes for staff."

'Retention vital'

She said there was still a "significant way to go to change culture in our trust and with instability at board level" and she hoped the future chief executive would work with the union to achieve the changes needed.

"We need a genuinely staff focused CEO who will continue to work with us to support and empower staff to improve working conditions, which is vital to addressing retention issues," added Ms Stevenson.

In August last year the ambulance trust was fined £1.2m over missed targets. The same month, the then Health Minister and Suffolk MP Dr Dan Poulter criticised Dr Marsh's "obscenely high" £232,000 a year salary for running both trusts.

The trust said at the time that sharing the roles meant a saving of £130,000.