THE chief executive of the NHS trust which covers the Potters Bar area is quitting her post.

Averil Dongworth will leave her role of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust at the start of February.

She will take up the vacant chief executive post at Barking Havering and Redbridge University NHS Trust in East London.

Mrs Dongworth said it was a difficult decision to leave.

She said: “Making the decision to leave the trust is one of the hardest I have ever had to take.

“When I took over Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust seven years ago it was a very different organisation to the one it is today.

“We have made great improvements in the quality of services we deliver, we can be proud of care we provide our patients and I am pleased the trust is now on a much more stable financial footing.”

She added: “I wish all our staff and users of our hospital services well for the future.”

Baroness Wall, the trust’s chairman, paid tribute to Mrs Dongworth’s work.

She said: “Averil should be very proud of what she has achieved during her time at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust. She has turned this organisation around.

“We have made significant improvements in the quality of care that we provide and we have achieved a financial surplus for the past two years.

“As a result, the trust is in a very strong position to meet the challenges of the future and to continue to provide the highest quality care to local people.

“She will be missed by everyone and we all wish her the very best for the future.”

The process to appoint a new chief executive is under way.