NEW leaders have been appointed at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

This was the trust that amid numerous management failings scandalously neglected to properly investigate the deaths of hundreds of people in its care.

Its chief executive, Katrina Percy, tried to cling on before public pressure forced her out.

Now Dr Nick Broughton will take up the post of chief executive from November with three new non-executive directors: David Kelham, David Monk and Jeni Bremner; and a substantive director of workforce, Paul Draycott.

No doubt the new people will talk about the need to ‘move forward’ and ‘learn from the past’.

This is all very well but what the Percy scandal highlighted was how institutionalised bad management can become.

Percy was awarded ‘manager of the year’ for allowing her “managers to manage”. She was lauded by the NHS as a shining example of a modern manager whilst overseeing a dysfunctional, failing organisation.

Dr Broughton will have to do more than just stare into a TV camera and look sincere.

He will have to publicly and repeatedly show that he is aware of what a disgrace Southern had become and never allow it to happen again.