The Isle of Wight council has come under fire following the announcement that Dr Carol Tozer has been appointed as the new permanent Director of Adult Social Care (DASS).
In response to the criticism the council say the Employment Sub-Committee considered pre-employment checks and references before making their decision.
Cllr Steve Stubbings, the Executive member responsible for Adult Social Care, voted in favour of the other shortlisted candidate, but the appointment of Dr Carol Tozer was approved after three members of the Employment Sub-Committee voted in her favour.
“Experienced senior leader”
Dr Tozer, whose Linked In page says she’s been on a “Career Break” since April 2016, was championed by the IWC as previously holding senior roles at several other local authorities.
They mentioned her role as the Chief Officer for the combined Health and Social Services Department for the States of Guernsey, as well as her secondment as a Director at the Department for Health.
Reader’s research
However, following the news breaking of her appointment it wasn’t long before an OnTheWight reader carried out their own research into the new Director, who is due to start working at the Isle of Wight council at the beginning of December 2016.
A simple Google search found that Dr Tozer had resigned from Guernsey just one month after a report criticised her department’s investigation into an Alderney doctor following patient deaths.
In addition, her six-month secondment at the Department of Health, when Cornwall’s director of adult social, followed a series of critical reports on learning disability services bringing the county under intense national scrutiny.
Pre-employment checks and references considered
Responding to criticism of the appointment, an Isle of Wight Council spokesperson told OnTheWight,
“The appointment of Dr Tozer was undertaken by the Employment Sub-Committee in accordance with the agreed procedures set out in the council’s constitution.
“In coming to its final decision the members of the committee considered a range of information including pre-employment checks and references from previous employers about each candidate.
“It considered this information, alongside how each candidate presented during a detailed interview process which took place over two days, in order to come to an informed view about which shortlisted candidate best met the needs of the council.”
Chosen by sub-committee
The Employment Sub-Committee members who voted in favour were Cllrs Blezzard, Hutchinson and Kendall.
Cllr Geoff Lumley (chair of the committee) and Cllr Stubbings both voted in favour of the other shortlisted candidate, Richard Smith.
Some might argue that the media attention given to the mistakes made, Dr Tozer is in a good position to ensure those kind of mistakes aren’t made again.
