THE Chairman of the Board of the Trust which runs Worthing Hospital is to leave at the end of May.

Mike Viggers is in charge of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and its Council of Governors.

He is also retiring from the same position at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust which he has held since April 2017 as part of the Trust’s leadership support for its neighbour organisation.

He has been chairman of Western Sussex since 2011, a period in which the trust became only the third in England to be named as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.

It has been rated by its staff as one of the best NHS organisations in the country at which to work or be treated.

Mike said: “The decision to retire has been the most difficult of my working life.

“I have spent seven wonderful years with such outstanding people at both Western Sussex and BSUH.

“Witnessing the dedication staff in our hospitals show to their patients day in and day out has been a truly humbling experience and I thank them all for that incredible commitment.

“However, at the age of 65, I feel the time is right to spend more time with my family and grandchildren, and allow another the privilege of chairing these two great organisations and helping them continue improving care for patients.”

Trust chief executive Marianne Griffiths paid tribute to Mike and his own contribution to the two organisations, saying: “We often talk about our staff going the extra mile for patients, but that absolutely applies to Mike’s own commitment to them too.

“We couldn’t have wished for a better and more dedicated chairman than Mike, and we will all miss him.”