The new stand-in boss at Medway Maritime Hospital is expected to earn more than £700 a day as he takes over at the trust this week.

Nigel Beverley has been appointed by the NHS watchdog Monitor to take over leadership of the troubled Medway NHS Foundation Trust after chief executive Mark Devlin quit 10 days ago.

Mr Beverley, said to have a wealth of NHS and management experience, charged £739 a day as interim chief executive at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk.

And Monitor has said that he can expect to command a similar wage at Medway in the position, which is expected to last up to a year.

Kirk Ward, a media relations officer for Monitor, said: “It differs from trust to trust. But the issues facing Medway are serious and we would not expect them to be solved overnight.

“It is the trust who will be paying the salaries and it’s up to them to come up with a renumeration package.

“But it will be on the same lines as other trusts in the country.”

Monitor stepped in last Thursday after Mr Devlin, who had been in the job for four years, and his deputy, the chairman Denise Harker, both resigned.

The NHS-funded regulator has put in place both Mr Beverley and Christopher Langley as the interim chairman. Both are expected to take up their roles this week.

Stephen Hay, Monitor’s managing director, said: “Medway is one of the most challenged trusts in the country and we believe that a change in leadership is essential for the trust to tackle the difficult issues that it faces.

“I am disappointed with the way this trust has been managed by its previous leaders, so we have acted quickly to ensure the right people are brought in to deliver immediate improvements at this troubled trust.”

Colin Wilby, senior independent trust director, welcomed the appointments.

He said: “We look forward to working with them constructively to bring about the improvements in performance that we all want to see for our patients and staff.”

In a statement released as he stepped down, Mr Devlin said: “I feel this is the right moment to move and encourage a new leadership to build on what’s been achieved and take the trust forward to the next phase.”