SACKED Hampshire Ambulance Trust chief executive Richard Mawson is to sue for unfair dismissal.
Despite 11 years at the helm, Mr Mawson, 46, was fired with no disciplinary hearing and no pay-off.
His abrupt departure from the £75,000-a-year job during a routine board meeting in May followed a second successive failure to hit key government targets.
The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) had published a damning report which slammed the trust for failing to meet emergency response times and for poor working practices which could have put patientsÕ lives at risk.
At the time, Sarah Murray, chairman of Hampshire Ambulance Trust, who will also leave the service this year, had expressed concern over Mr MawsonÕs performance.
The unions too were fiercely critical of Mr MawsonÕs regime and, while initially welcoming temporary replacement, acting chief executive Claire Severgnini, they recently launched a public attack on what they saw as Òdangerous levelsÓ of understaffing.
They have also complained about being sidelined in discussions over the future of the service.
Alton ambulance man and chairman of the trustÕs joint shop stewardsÕ committee, Jim Barnett, told The Herald: ÒWhoever takes over the position of chief executive we hope will stop looking at the trade unions as the problem and include us in the decision-making process.
ÒWhat we need is someone who is approachable and who is able to make lasting changes in a fair way.Ó
While the post of chief executive is now being advertised at £80,000 for someone willing to take on the challenge of turning round a service dogged by two years of low morale and missed targets, Richard Mawson is preparing to hit back.
He lodged his unfair dismissal claim on August 15 and Hampshire Ambulance Trust bosses have until today (Friday) to say whether or not they will contest the case.
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If he is successful, Mr Mawson could claim up to £53,500 in damages - the maximum that an employment tribunal can award.