HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he is "extremely concerned" at the lack of accountability following financial mismanagement at NHS Croydon.
A Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee accused the primary care trust (PCT) of covering up a £28 million misreporting of finances in 2010/11.
The committee wrote to Mr Hunt last month and asked him to intervene after key figures, including then chief executive Caroline Taylor, refused to give evidence.
Speaking in the House of Commons today (Tuesday) Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell raised a question about accountability at the trust.
He asked: "Does the Secretary of State believe this is unacceptable and will he be doing anything to ensure that this is rectified?"
Mr Hunt replied: "Accountability is extremely important and local authorities can require members of employees of local health service commissioners to appear and answer questions. NHS organisations and individuals should cooperate with that.
"So I am extremely concerned by what (Mr Barwell) said. He knows I have received a report on this from the Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee for six south west London boroughs and I will be responding shortly."
Ms Taylor was not the only member of NHS Croydon's governing body to refuse to appear before the committee.
Croydon councillors Toni Letts, former chairman of the trust, and David Fitze, in charge of the audit committee, also snubbed invitations to appear, as did Stephen O'Brien, director of finance, and Mark Phillips, interim deputy director of finance, who made "unwarranted adjustments" to the accounts, an investigation found.
NHS London, which commissioned auditors Ernst & Young to conduct that report, has remained steadfast in its insistence that the £28 million discrepancy was the result of a systems fault and no individuals were to blame. For the latest on this issue, see this week's Advertiser, out on Friday (June 14).
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