THE chief of both Warrington and Halton hospitals will leave her post, which she has held for four years, in January.

Catherine Beardshaw will step down as head of Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after she was appointed chief executive at Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It marks the end of a relatively stable period for the hospital which had previously seen four chief executives in four years.

During her time at Warrington and Halton, Mrs Beardshaw has improved national performance ratings and finances, cut infection numbers and invested in a range of new facilities.

Allan Massey, the hospitals’ chairman, said: “Aintree’s gain is going to be our loss as Catherine has bought stability, high quality leadership and made a real difference to our hospitals in her time with us.

“We have started the process of searching for a successor and hope to be able to appoint to the post as soon as possible to ensure continuity and a smooth transition.”

Mrs Beardshaw started her NHS career as a radiographer before moving into general management. She joined Warrington and Halton hospitals, previously known as North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, from Leeds Teaching Hospitals where she was director of operations.

In a letter to hospital staff, Mrs Beardshaw said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me to take. While it is a wonderful opportunity for me personally, I have spent four very happy years as chief executive here and in that time I feel that all of us as a team across the hospitals have achieved so much together.

“All of this has put us in an excellent position for the future and I am personally very proud of all that we have done together.”

Mrs Beardshaw will join Aintree in February 2011 where she will replace current chief Jim Birrell.