Cornwall hospital appealing against sacking decision

A health trust board in Cornwall which unfairly dismissed its chief executive is to appeal against a tribunal's decision, it has said.

John Watkinson was suspended from the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) in 2008 after concerns about his management. He was sacked in 2009.

An industrial tribunal ruled earlier in May that his sacking had been "substantively unfair".

The RCHT said it was not commenting any further on its appeal.

The trust said: "The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Board is to appeal the Employment Tribunal judgment of May 2010 concerning the trust's former chief executive, Mr John Watkinson.

"The trust has received legal advice that it would be inappropriate to make any public statements while these proceedings are ongoing and will not, therefore, be making any further comment."

The health secretary has called for an investigation and report into the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) after Mr Watkinson was sacked.

John Mills, trust acting chairman at the time of the sacking, told the BBC the SHA pressured it into the decision.

The SHA denied this, saying that the trust was responsible for making its own decisions.

Minister Andrew Lansley said he took the case "very seriously".

The SHA and the RCHT both said they welcomed the report and were to offer every assistance.