Mike Brereton will become the chairman of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust from Monday for six months.

His first job will be to appoint four non-executive directors and help draw up a recovery plan to sort out finances at the Stoke-on-Trent hospital.

The position had been advertised twice since the previous chairman left.

Prof Calum Paton left in December.

A full-time job will be advertised later.

'Future success'

Mr Brereton, a former Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council leader, is giving up his role as chairman of Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority, which is set to merge and disappear within weeks.

He said: "University Hospital is of enormous importance to the people of North Staffordshire, who value and support it.

"I feel privileged to be offered the opportunity to contribute to its future success."

Posts going across the trust - helping to deal with a �15m debt - are expected to include 15 consultants, 370 nurses and 200 nursing assistants. Job losses are set to be fought strongly by the trade unions.

The redundancies will mean one-in-seven jobs will go with three-quarters of them likely to be compulsory.