The Cumberland Infirmary was built with private money

The former chief executive of the North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust, Nick Wood, quit after a damning report by health inspectors.

The trust's chairman Barbara Cannon also resigned after the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) criticised her leadership.

The trust includes the flagship Public Finance Initiative (PFI) hospital - Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle - and its sister outfit West Cumberland Hospital.

The CHI report said the trust lacked direction, that poor management was causing overworked staff, and there were tensions between the two hospitals.

The new chief executive will have to unite the two units and take patient services in the north of the county forward.

It is understood the new chief executive could be named by the end of the week.

Since the resignations, Eric Urquhart, the chairman of the North Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust, has been acting chairman.

The director of finance, Peter Scott, has been acting chief executive.

The trust was created by the merger of Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, 40 miles away, in April 2001.