THE new chairman of the trust running Redditch's Alexandra Hospital has set out her ambitions for the next four years.

Caragh Merrick was appointed to the £40,000-a-year role with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in August and started in September.

Mrs Merrick’s appointment follows the resignation of former chairman Harry Turner in March leaving Chris Tidman in the role of chief executive.

The chartered accountant said she aims to see the much-maligned hospitals trust rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over the next four years.

Last year the CQC presented a damning report of the trust’s three acute hospitals – placing the Worcestershire Royal into special measures.

Mrs Merrick said: “In four years’ time my ambition is that the CQC comes into this trust and rates our service as outstanding. I’m not saying it is easy, it isn’t, but if you are not going to have that as ambition why bother?”

With the busy winter months looming, measures have been introduced to help reduce pressure on on the trust's strained A&E departments.

A new ward was opened at Worcestershire Royal last week offering 18 to 20 beds for elderly patients who have been admitted for emergency treatment.

The ward, called Evergreen, is designed as a rehabilitation space for older patients, freeing up beds for people admitted into A&E.

Mrs Merrick explained: “We have an ageing population. It [Evergreen] is an opportunity, when we have completed our acute treatment, we have this ward whereby we can move – mainly elderly – people who need rehabilitation to a safe environment.”

However, Mrs Merrick said her “immediate” priority was to provide a “stable and effective board”, with plans in place to announce a permanent chief executive next month.

She said: “My first, immediate priority is to create a stable and effective board that can provide leadership to this trust in a way that is hasn’t had in recent times.”

Mrs Merrick continued to say plans are “on track” to roughly halve the trust’s £60million deficit, reported last year, by looking at ways to operate services more efficiently, reconsider the ways services are delivered and come up with “innovative” ways to deal with the structural deficit.

She also hopes to improve communication with the public.

Mrs Merrick said: “This is my local trust, it cared for my late parents – both my mother and my father.”

"I saw this trust through their eyes and my own as a carer. It has always meant a great deal to me because it is my local trust. I know that this trust gets a bad press but there are wonderful people here who I have met and been really encouraged by. This is a great bunch of people and we can do great things here.”

Dale Bywater, NHS improvement executive regional managing director (Midlands and East), said: “The panel was impressed not only by Caragh’s experience, but also by her commitment to improving services for local people.

“She will bring the stability and vision which will enable the organisation to continue its improvement journey.”