arch.law has confirmed that its client, Dr Susan Gilby, former Chief Executive of Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust, has reached a settlement with the Trust. It will pay £1.4 million in compensation to her following her successful employment tribunal claim that she was unfairly dismissed for “blowing the whistle” on bullying and harassment at the hospital that impacted on staff welfare, her health, and, most seriously, on patient safety.
The settlement follows an employment tribunal judgment handed down in February 2025 which found that senior figures at the Trust had conspired to remove Dr Gilby from her role after she raised concerns about the conduct of the Chair of the Trust, Ian Haythornthwaite, and other senior Trust managers. The Tribunal concluded that a group of senior figures, operating under the name “Project Countess”, had built a “sham case” against her, and that she had never been properly told the reasons for her suspension.
In addition to the damages agreed, the Trust is now also facing a further hearing in which it is being asked to pay at least some of the costs of the proceedings, on the basis of the way the litigation was conducted. That application is currently being contested by the Trust and is due to be considered by the Tribunal on Monday, 19 January 2026.
The size of the settlement places this case among the highest publicly disclosed awards to an NHS whistleblower in England.
Dr Gilby has said that she hopes the outcome will encourage others who are subjected to bullying and harassment to come forward, and that organisations will think carefully before attempting to silence those who raise legitimate concerns.
arch.law’s view on accountability and public money
Ian Radford, Senior Consultant with arch.law said: “The public is entitled to ask hard questions about how this situation was allowed to happen, and why it was allowed to become so expensive.
“This case did not have to cost anything like the sums now being talked about. From an early stage – and repeatedly, both before and after the Tribunal’s damning liability judgment – we invited the Trust to engage with us, to talk sensibly, and to explore ways of resolving this without driving up costs. Those invitations were ignored.
“So the question is simple: was the Trust advised that there was a real risk – indeed a likelihood – that it could lose? If it was, why was that advice not acted upon? And if it was not, why not?
“There is no such thing as a defence that is guaranteed to succeed, even when it is backed by the weight of the NHS. Dr Gilby was faced with a stark choice: walk away in silence from behaviour she believed was wrong, or see her case through to the bitter end, with all the stress and cost that would inevitably involve. She chose principle over convenience, and that took enormous courage.
“We are grateful to her for standing her ground, and to the BMA for the support that made it possible for justice to be done.
“This case is also about accountability beyond the Trust itself. The Tribunal made extremely serious findings about a number of individuals. It is therefore deeply concerning that one of those criticised – Kenneth Gill – continues to hold a senior public role with the Legal Aid Agency, including responsibility for audit and risk. The public has a right to ask whether those charged with overseeing governance elsewhere are truly fit to do so when a tribunal has found such serious failings.”
Dr Gilby was appointed Chief Executive of Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust in September 2018. She was widely praised for her leadership through the Covid-19 pandemic.
In late 2021, Mr Haythornthwaite – an accountant – was appointed as the new Chair of the Trust. His behaviour, and the behaviour of those surrounding him, gave rise to serious concerns that Dr Gilby reported, through the correct channels. It was her hope that things could be improved with some training and mentoring, as he settled in to his new role. That hope was to be dashed, and instead a campaign – dubbed “Project Countess” was developed to push Dr Gilby out of her job.
There was a vague offer made of a non-job for her somewhere else in the NHS, provided that she dropped her complaints against Mr Haythornthwaite. When she made it clear she was unwilling to do so, she was wrongfully suspended from her post, in December 2022. She was denied the access to her colleagues and her emails that she needed to defend herself, and it later turned out that those emails (and other documents) were ‘weeded’ by the Trust.
Dr Gilby resigned shortly afterwards and brought claims for unfair dismissal and whistleblowing detriment. In February 2025, the Employment Tribunal found comprehensively in her favour, concluding that:
- She had never been properly informed of the reasons for her suspension
- Senior figures had coordinated efforts to remove her from her role
- A false case had been constructed against her that purported to justify her removal and
- Key evidence had been deleted or destroyed.
arch.law acted for Dr Gilby throughout the case, from initial advice and presentation of her claim, through extensive evidence-gathering and the Tribunal hearing, to settlement negotiations.
From an early stage, and repeatedly both before and after the Tribunal’s liability decision, arch.law invited the Trust to engage in settlement discussions and alternative dispute resolution. Those approaches were consistently rejected. No meaningful settlement proposals were made until many months after the Tribunal had published its damning findings in February 2025.
The result was that a case which could have been resolved far earlier was allowed to run on, dramatically increasing stress for Dr Gilby and the ultimate cost to the public.
arch.law believes this case exposes serious systemic issues and underlines the urgent need for:
- Taking concerns about conduct and governance seriously, rather than treating whistleblowers as a problem to be removed
- Protecting those who speak up in the public interest
- Engaging early and constructively in dispute resolution
- Ensuring that those responsible for overseeing senior leaders – including non-executive directors – properly do their jobs, so that misconduct is challenged early and costly litigation is avoided.
The team at arch.law was led by Ian Radford and Robyn Barron and assisted by Jo Jones, Barbara Kranjcec, Issy Chang and Sally Marsden.
The Counsel team was Oliver Segal KC and Madeline Stanley of Old Square Chambers with assistance from Kelly Yu at 4 New Square.
For further information please contact marketing@arch.law.
