from Christian Concern
A former public governor repeatedly warned NHS managers that their handling of the Darlington nurses’ changing-room case risked echoing governance failures exposed by the Post Office Horizon Inquiry and the Countess of Chester scandal, evidence heard today at Newcastle Employment Tribunal has revealed.
The evidence is contained in a witness statement from Stephen Twist, a former public governor of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
His statement was released after its contents were presented in open court during a hearing concerning the legal costs incurred by the nurses in their successful case against the Trust.
Mr Twist’s evidence records an extensive series of questions and warnings that he raised with senior Trust figures between June and December 2024.
These concerned the management of the dispute, oversight of legal risk, the potential cost to the NHS, the availability of mediation and whether governors were being prevented from subjecting the Trust’s decisions to proper scrutiny.
In November 2024, Mr Twist expressly referred Trust leaders to lessons emerging from the Post Office Horizon Inquiry. He urged the Trust to obtain specialist counsel’s opinion on the merits of the case and possible routes to resolution, rather than relying solely on advice from its retained solicitors.
The following month, he warned against any appearance that discussion of the dispute was being suppressed, drawing attention to criticisms of governance arising from the handling of sensitive concerns at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Despite those warnings, the Trust continued defending the proceedings through a three-week final hearing in October and November 2025.