THE former chairman of NHS Croydon has become the latest high-profile board member to refuse to answer questions about the trust's £28 million overspend.
Toni Letts, now vice chairman of the primary care trust (PCT), has declined a request to give evidence before an inquiry investigating the scandal.
Her silence follows former chief executive Caroline Taylor's refusal last month to appear before the South West London joint health and overview scrutiny committee.
Neither will explain their role in NHS Croydon posting a £5 million surplus in 2010/11 when it had actually overspent by at least £23 million.
Committee chairman Jason Cummings said the review had little choice but to conclude they have "something to hide".
He said: "It's intensely frustrating that people won't come and answer our questions.
"I can only assume they don't want to because what will come out won't make them look good.
"Toni has refused to come and speak with us. She was in an accountable position so why won't she come and justify what she did? Unless of course she doesn't want us to know what the reasons are.
"We have no choice but to conclude that they must be hiding something."
Cllr Letts, who represents Selhurst, was equally tight-lipped when contacted by the Advertiser.
"I've said all I am going to say on the Croydon report," she said.
"I really don't want to discuss it. You know me, I'm quite transparent.
"People will judge me as they will. I'm not prepared to talk about it.
"It's a past era. Any money which was spent went on patient care in Croydon."
The scrutiny committee was set up by five boroughs, led by Croydon Council, after the publication of an independent report in NHS Croydon's finances in June.
Ernst & Young's investigation found the deficit was due to a systems failure and concluded that no individual was entirely at fault, leading some to brand it a whitewash.
Health bosses insist the £28 million was spent on healthcare but the committee heard from Dr Peter Brambleby, Croydon's former director of public health, who said a screening programme for heart disease and stroke had to be cut back.
Ann Radmore, who took over from Taylor as chief executive and signed off the accounts in question, is the only current NHS director to have given evidence.
Last week John Power, chairman of the audit committee in 2007/08, described how the deficit had been "avoidable, either largely or entirely".
But the committee has been unable to pin down some of the key protagonists.
The committee has written to the Department of Health about chief executive Caroline Taylor's refusal to give evidence, though Cllr Cummings does not hold out much hope that it will make any difference.
It has also been unable to locate former director of finance Stephen O'Brien, whose extended periods of sick leave left interim deputy finance director Mark Phillips effectively in control of the finances.
Ernst & Young found Mr Phillips made "unwarranted adjustments" to the agreement of balances while working "largely unsupervised" but the committee has been unable to contact him either.
It also approached Paul Baumann, former director of finance at NHS London who now holds the same position on the new NHS Commissioning Board.
"Paul Baumann originally said he would speak to us but the last I heard he had not been responding to our communications," said Cllr Cummings.
He admits widespread refusal to participate raises questions about the reliability of the committee's conclusions.
"Are we going to get a definitive picture at the end of this? It doesn't look likely," he added.
"We have kept the light shone on people who did know exactly what went on and why these decisions were made.
"Unfortunately we can't compel people to attend – we're not a Commons select committee."
The head of NHS Croydon’s audit committee when the trust posted a £28 million overspend has admitted he was 'unqualified'.
David Fitze was accused of lacking the required qualifications by his predecessor John Power at a scrutiny committee meeting last week.
Cllr Fitze, who is also a councillor in Fairfield ward, was also audit chairman before Mr Power but stood down during a shake-up in 2006 and could not reapply as he did not have sufficient experience.
The Advertiser attempted to contact Cllr Fitze on a number of occasions and finally received a letter on Monday.
"The comments within the article that I was 'unqualified' are true in so far that I do not have accountancy qualifications," he wrote.
"However, I believe unequivocally what was factored into that decision [to reappoint him] was that I had over 30 years' experience of financial management, in private and public service both in this country and abroad.
"I believe it was my experience of serving as a senior officer with Croydon Council and managing a complex private finance initiative for local government, together with the fact that as a lay chairman I had turned around a failing registered housing association, meant I was able to prove I had the acumen and experience to deliver the requirements of the post."
Mr Fitze added that he reapplied, along with five others, for the position when Power stepped down as chairman in 2008. The process was overseen by the Appointments Commission.
As for whether he could have spotted or prevented the trust’s
financial problems, Mr Fitze wrote: "If such misstatements were not
found by either internal or external auditors or indeed through
challenges/scrutiny made by either the audit committee or the main
board, it is hard to say how such errors could have been found."
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