AN NHS Trust chairman refused to resign yesterday despite overseeing a “climate of stress and fear.”

East Sussex Healthcare Trust chairman Stuart Welling accepted all the findings of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report which branded his trust “Inadequate” and recommended it is put into special measures.

But he refused to step down saying he had been “asked to stay on” to provide stability and continuity.

Meanwhile acting CEO Richard Sunley, who earns £163,000 a year, was branded “disgraceful” by campaigners for choosing to be on holiday on the worst day in the Trust’s history.

Responding to yesterday’s report, Welling told The Argus that the proper levels of hygiene, staffing, management and record-keeping had all been missed.

The trust was criticised by inspectors for a culture of harassment and unfair blame, in which only 58% of staff would feel secure raising concerns about unsafe practices.

But Welling said he had intended to create “an open culture and staff could communicate up the line” and refused to acknowledge that he had failed in this regard.

He pointed to increases in staffing and falls in waiting times since the last inspection in March, but said he was: “very sorry that the CQC have found some of our policies, procedures and systems not up to the level that they should be.”

This follows an apology issued on behalf of acting chief executive Richard Sunley yesterday.

But the acting CEO is on holiday all this week, which the Argus was told was because the timing of the report’s publication could not be anticipated.

A union official expressed his shock at Mr Sunley's absence. He said that Mr Sunley told a senior committee last Friday that all director level and senior management team staff have cleared their diaries for Tuesday to be available to staff and the press.

Liz Walke of the Save our DGH campaign said that the CEO’s absence was: “An absolute disgrace.”

She added: “The chairman needs to resign and the chief executive needs to check his priorities.”

Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell said: “At this moment it would be good to hear directly from the CEO.”