THE FORMER chief executive of a Westcountry hospital claims he was "stabbed in the back" by board members who suspended him after they were "bullied and threatened" by senior colleagues.

John Watkinson yesterday took to the stand in an employment tribunal to explain why he believes he was unfairly dismissed from the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (RCHT). He was sacked despite improving performance and turning around and creating a small surplus out of a projected £31 million deficit, the hearing was told.

Mr Watkinson claims the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) "orchestrated a confluence of events" to oust him, because its members were angry that he blew the whistle over a legal obligation to consult the public on controversial plans to centralise specialist upper gastro-intestinal (GI) cancer services.

Mr Watkinson said he had supported the views of the non-executive directors on the board, who particularly feared that Cornwall might switch over to Plymouth, but Exeter would not follow suit as planned.

He said that the non-executive directors had pledged to "protect" him, because he was in a more vulnerable position in opposing the SHA.

But he said: "When the time came to support me, they stabbed me in the back. I was let down by them, but also the organisation was let down by them.

"It wasn't just my view that I should stay on to carry the improvements forward – it was pretty much the view of everyone in the organisation, especially those who deal with patients."

He said board members were "frightened" of Sir Ian Carruthers, SHA chief executive, and its chairman Sir Michael Pitt, and feared they would lose their jobs. He added: "They buckled to the views of the SHA. They were frightened. Carruthers and Pitt can be very intimidating and tough people."

He told the tribunal his "card was marked" from the day the SHA discovered that he had led a meeting with RCHT directors, where they decided to seek an independent legal opinion on relocating upper GI services. "I had put myself up over the parapet on the legal duty to consult, and I believe that was the real reason for my dismissal," he said.

Mr Watkinson claimed that Professor Mike Griffin, one of two specialists who carried out a review into the service, had told him that Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, had asked him to "write a letter to suggest that the service was unsafe without even visiting". Mr Watkinson said: "Griffin, being a man of integrity, refused to do so."

He added: "That was a real indication to me that the SHA, working with the PCT, was absolutely determined to close the service without consultation. That was a real danger sign to me."

Instead, the review concluded that the service was safe, but was unsustainable in its current form.

Mr Watkinson also claimed that Ann James, then chief executive of the Cornwall Primary Care Trust, had made an "outrageous" suggestion to close the upper GI cancer service in a meeting at which the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly overview and scrutiny committee accepted that it could have a serious impact on health provision in the area.

The committee made a U-turn on an earlier decision that it was not a substantial change. The body's new position meant that the PCT would be obliged to consult, the tribunal was told.

Mr Watkinson said: "She (Ann James) then said to me, 'If you are agreed, let's just close the service'. It was an outrageous thing to say."

As a result, he sought legal advice that directly asked what the position would be if the PCT closed the service without consultation, and he was told it would be unlawful.

Mr Watkinson also revealed that clinicians were "banned" from public engagement meetings on the relocation. He believes the SHA co-ordinated the release of a series of damaging reports to tarnish his name and pave the way to his suspension. Among them was an investigation into his former workplace, Bromley Hospital Trust in Kent.

Another was an announcement by the Health Care Commission (HCC) that the RCHT had failed four self-assessment areas, all of which the trust had judged it had passed. Mr Watkinson said the news was "mysteriously brought forward" from a pre-planned meeting to the day before his dismissal.

But Simon Devonshire QC, who is representing RCHT in the proceedings, insisted Mr Watkinson's suspension in September 2008 was "within the range of reasonable responses", and said the HCC's stance was "genuinely held".

The tribunal continues today.