THE chief executive of mid Essex Hospital services NHS Trust has taken the personal decision to step down from this role to pursue new challenges within the NHS.

Professor Graham Ramsay, who has been in the post since September 2009, will leave the trust immediately.

Chairman of mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust Professor Sheila Salmon said: “I respect Graham’s decision to stand down at this time to pursue new challenges and would like to pay tribute to the hard work that he has put into this role and his dedication to the Trust over the past 16 months.

“In particular his biggest accolade was leading the successful move of services into the new hospital wing at Broomfield. This involved the move of services, staff and 365 patients into the new building, whilst continuing to deliver patient care.

“It all went very smoothly and means we have been able to centralise all acute hospital services onto one site, something that has been in the planning for many years.

“Under Graham’s leadership we were given the go ahead by NHS East of England to re-enter the process to become a Foundation Trust. This is very good news and a very positive step forward for the Trust.

“It has been a great privilege to work with Graham and I wish him every success with his future career. We will now be looking for the strongest possible leader to replace Graham to mount a credible Foundation Trust application built on a Trust that delivers the plans agreed by the Board.”

Professor Ramsay said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Trust. I have met and worked with a lot of excellent people and I wish everyone at the Trust all the best for the future.”

In the interim period Malcolm Stamp CBE will be the acting chief executive. Malcolm has been with the Trust since August 2010 as the director of transformation.

Mid Essex Hospital services NHS Trust provides services from four sites in and around Chelmsford, Maldon and Braintree. The main site is Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.