Below is a profile of each of the five executive board members who collectively oversee the hospital…
Glenn Douglas – Chief Executive
Appointed to the role of Chief Executive of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Mr Douglas, 57, commands an annual salary of £200,000 – in contrast, Prime Minister Theresa May is paid just over £140,000.
Previously the CEO of Ashford and St Peters Hospitals and Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trusts, he took up his current position in 2007.
Mr Douglas was tasked with restoring public confidence following the Healthcare Commission’s report into the death of 90 patients because of so-called ‘super-bugs’.
Mr Douglas is a qualified accountant and a member of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, an advisory body sponsored by the Department of Health. He is also a governor of St Mark’s Primary School in Tunbridge Wells.
Steve Orpin – Director of Finance
The Trust’s Director of Finance since 2014, Mr Orpin is responsible for providing information and advice about all financial management issues and is paid a salary of £125,000.
He had previously worked for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, where he had been Deputy Director of Finance and filled in for a 12-month period as Director.
A Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, he has worked in finance for NHS organisations across London and the South East for more than 20 years.
Having attended Chatham Grammar School for Boys, he obtained an MBA in Stategy, Creativity, Innovation, Change and Knowledge Management at the Open University in 2010.
Avey Bhatia – Chief Nurse
Avey Bhatia has been Chief Nurse at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust for the last three years, earning £105,000 per year.
She is also the Board Nurse at East Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group and had previously been Deputy Chief Nurse at South London NHS Trust between 2010-13.
Educated at London’s South Bank University, she has a postgraduate diploma in Health Service Management and a Masters in Public Administration and was Assistant Nurse Director at St George’s NHS Trust in London for 10 years.
Paul Sigston – Medical Director
Mr Sigston has been a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Trust for the last 17 years and, in his role as the Medical Director, is the professional lead for the entire medical workforce. He earns £230,000 a year.
A graduate from Edinburgh University before becoming a junior doctor in Edinburgh and Chester, he later moved to London to work at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
He has worked at the Trust since 1998 and was previously the Divisional Director for the Planned Services Division.
The 52-year-old father of four daughters donated one of his organs to a woman suffering from kidney failure two years ago as an ‘altruistic’ gesture.
Angela Gallagher (right)
Angela Gallagher -Â Chief Operating Officer
Angela Gallagher has been Chief Operating Officer - a £115,000-per-year job – since 2012, having worked in various capacities for the Trust over the past  12 years.
She began as General Manager, then was appointed Access Projects Director before becoming Deputy COO in 2009.
She had previously been General Manager at North Middlesex University Hospital.
Having attended the Basildon and Thurrock School of Nursing, Ms Gallagher worked as a paediatric nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and later obtained a BSC in Health Studies at the Royal College of Nursing through the University of Manchester.
