Questions have been raised as to why the former boss of Medway Maritime was able to walk directly into a top NHS role after leaving the failing hospital trust.

Mark Devlin, whose four-year reign at Medway was dogged by controversy that led to the hospital being put into special measures, was replaced by the health regulator Monitor in January.

At the time Monitor said it was “disappointed” with the way the trust had been managed, and health secretary Jeremy Hunt lambasted previous weak leadership at Medway when he visited the hospital earlier this month.

But Mr Devlin is now at the helm of Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HEKSS), an organisation responsible for the training of more than 100,000 NHS staff.

Just a week after leaving Medway he was appointed interim chairman and the position has since been made permanent.

Cllr Teresa Murray, health spokeswoman for Medway Labour, said she has not been able to pin Mr Devlin down on how he is accountable. She said: “Having left Medway in a very difficult position Mark Devlin has been promoted on to better things.

“I think there is a real problem with accountability with regards to chief executives of hospital trusts.

“These people are on very high salaries, often 20 times more than some staff, and, as far as I can tell, the post is not dependent on performance measures. It doesn’t seem fair.

Chief executives have extremely high salaries but they are not set targets and are not accountable. It is a disgrace.”

“These people are on very high salaries, often 20 times more than some staff, and, as far as I can tell, the post is not dependent on performance measures" - Cllr Teresa Murray

On his LinkedIn profile, Mr Devlin appears to have no qualms about his record at Medway, boasting that the hospital provided "comprehensive" services to acute, maternity and child patients in a demanding area.

Mr Devlin said at the time of his appointment at HEKSS: “The importance of excellent education and training in recruiting and developing the right people with the right skills and values to transform health and healthcare for our patients has never been greater.”

Philippa Spicer, HEKSS managing director, said: “We are very pleased that Mark has been formally appointed as our independent chair.

“Mark’s vision and extensive experience will, I am sure, help lead HEKSS to continued success as we develop our people to improve health and care across the region”.

The Medway Messenger has been told it would have to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out Mr Devlin’s salary at HEKSS.