The former boss of the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been confirmed as having left in the wake of the appointment of a new group CEO.

The organisation said chief executive Sue Page received no financial severance package in departing, nor had she been made redundant, although her role will now disappear.

A new group CEO Stacey Hunter, who will lead a joint operating model being developed for both the South Tees and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, was appointed in the autumn and began work at the start of the month after moving from the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service had attempted to establish Ms Page’s status after the appointment was secured.

It is understood she departed the trust at the end of the year with the news being shared with employees in a goodbye message issued by joint chairman Professor Derek Bell, although no public pronouncement was made.

During her tenure Ms Page, who replaced former chief executive Siobhan McArdle after she exited the trust in 2019, oversaw the organisation moving from ‘requires improvement’ to being rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The trust had put an action plan in place to address a number of regulatory breaches previously identified by the CQC, which said last year there had been significant and widespread improvements overseen by an effective leadership team.

Prof Bell’s note said Ms Page had joined the trust at a difficult time and brought with her previous significant experience as an NHS leader to steer it forward.

He wrote: “Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery plan, Sue has guided us back to our best.”

Prof Bell added: “This relates to Sue empowering clinicians and staff to make decisions that inform both how care is delivered and how resources are allocated, for the benefit of patients, carers and families.

“Together we have achieved something truly special and this provides a strong foundation for us to build our future plans for our staff, patients and service users in the years to come.”

Ali Wilson, a non-executive director on the board at South Tees and vice chair, said Ms Page had for the last four years provided “strong and determined trust leadership, working hand in hand with our clinical leaders, managers and support staff, to develop and improve services”.

She said: “Sue’s legacy to the trust is evident and enables us to move forward with our ambitious plans for collaboration across Teesside and North Yorkshire. 

“We will continue to build world class services and attract the very best health care professionals to our hospital group to fulfil our vision for the future.”

In January last year the North and South Tees trusts agreed to form a hospital group in order to strengthen the way the two organisations work together.

It has been stated that the two trusts are not merging, with each remaining as a statutory organisation in their own right.

Together they have an annual budget of about £1.2bn and more than 15,000 staff, with 9,000 of those being employed at South Tees, which operates Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital and the Friarage in Northallerton.