MORALE at NHS Harrow will be “shot to pieces” by the departure of the trust's boss, a councillor claims.

Mark Easton is leaving the organisation, formerly Harrow PCT, along with NHS Brent to help Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital gain Foundation Trust status.

He leaves behind an body which in January he admitted faces the biggest financial challenges of any PCT in London.

Councillor Barry Macleod-Cullinane, deputy leader of the Tory Group, said the PCT was in crisis, being forced to confront a huge deficit, at times estimated to be as high as £57m.

It must also pass its commissioning responsibilities to GPs and at the same time oversee a merger with other health bodies.

Cllr Macleod-Cullinane said: “I'm worried because if you've got the management disappearing morale will be shot to pieces.

“You've got a proposed merger with Brent, and then you've got commissioning to deal with, then you are supposed to shoot 50 per cent of your managers, then you've got the financial black hole.”

The organisation has been ordered to halve the number of management posts but also admits it has struggled to keep hold of directors, and acknowledges this may have contributed to its financial problems.

Minutes of an internal meeting in January state: “The committee discussed the difficulties in recruiting and retaining directors in Harrow over the past three to five years, and considered whether the resulting turnover and lack of experience were contributory factors.”

Marcia Saunders, chair of NHS Harrow and NHS Brent, said: “We are currently in the process of making the necessary arrangements to cover Mark’s departure to ensure the progress we have made to date, continues.”