Doctor becomes new hospital chief
A qualified doctor has been appointed as the new chief executive of an Essex hospital's trust.
Dr Gordon Coutts will join Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust on 6 September.
He succeeds Peter Murphy, who retires on 31 August after more than six years in the post.
Mr Coutts, who lives in Ashen, near Halstead, has 20 years experience in pharmaceuticals. He became non-executive director in April.
He said: "Since becoming a non-executive director, I have been inspired by the motivation of the staff and by their ambition to make the trust an outstanding organisation.
"This led me to make a much more personal commitment to a new direction for the trust."
After qualifying at St Thomas' Hospital, London, in 1985, Mr Coutts worked as a hospital doctor for four years, finishing at Hammersmith Hospital, London.
From 2004 to 2009 he was vice president and managing director of healthcare company Schering Plough in the UK and Ireland.