C-diff pay row boss awaits result

Rose Gibb was at the High Court for the week-long hearing

Judgement has been reserved in the case of a former Kent health trust boss who is claiming �175,000 severance pay.

Rose Gibb left her job days before a report into a clostridium difficile (C-diff) outbreak at at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

It concluded the infection was the main cause of death for 90 patients.

The trust negotiated a �250,000 deal with Ms Gibb but withheld �175,000 after being told not to pay the full sum by the government.

During the hearing, Ms Gibb, of Sole Street, Cobham, said she had been "demonised" by the press following the Healthcare Commission (HCC) report.

Payment 'irrational'

She left Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in October 2007, days before the report was published.

Ms Gibb told Mr Justice Treacy at the High Court that when she was advised in July 2007 to "fall on her sword", she refused to resign from her �150,000-a-year chief executive post.

She believed the HCC report was "full of inaccuracies, innuendo and unfounded criticisms".

She said she was still being used as a scapegoat in the report even though it confirmed, together with the Health and Safety Executive and Kent Police, that there was no evidence which would have allowed any individuals to be blamed.

Ms Gibb added that she had resigned because she was relying on the trust honouring its �250,000 payoff agreement, but was only paid �75,000 for six months' notice and had not received a further �175,000 compensation.

The trust is contesting Ms Gibb's claim for the full �250,000, saying the agreement to pay her compensation was irrational and generous in the circumstances.

Counsel for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust told Mr Justice Treacy it was a case of significant importance not just for the authority, but the public generally.