THE CHIEF executive of a failing hospital trust has been named one of the top 50 in the country.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT)’s chief executive Matthew Hopkins features on the Health Service Journal’s annual Top 50 list this year.

Mr Hopkins has been in charge of King George’s Hospital in Goodmayes and Queen’s Hospital in Romford since he took over in April 2014.

He started out his career as a nurse and has worked at a number of hospitals across London and England.

Just over a year after Mr Hopkins started working in the three boroughs, the trust was given ‘requires improvement’ in four out of five areas of its Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, and one ‘inadequate’.

But the journal’s Top 50 list congratulated him on the performance of the trust, his wider contributions to the economy and the NHS, and his personal example.

In the last two years he has introduced a leadership development programme, expanded BHRUT’s workforce, and encouraged greater patient feedback.

Chairman of BHRUT’s patient partnership council Ian James said: “Under Matthew’s leadership the voice of the patient has been moved to the fore.

“The patient partnership council is made up of independent people who must ensure the patient comes first, and under Matthew, that is absolutely the case.”

Chairman of Healthwatch Havering Anne-Marie Dean added: “Matthew and his team, despite the rising demands and the continued complexity of healthcare, have remained committed to working tirelessly to improve the standards of care at the hospital.

“We’ve found him to be open, approachable and inclusive and look forward to working with him and his team in the future.”