THE medical director of Oxford's John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals has announced he will step down later this year.

Dr Tony Berendt revealed yesterday that he will be retiring from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in September after four years in the role.

Trust chairman Dame Fiona Caldicott and chief executive Dr Bruno Holthof described him as an ‘outstanding medical leader’.

In a personal letter to his fellow consultants, Dr Berendt said he had been fortunate to have worked with ‘fantastic’ colleagues during his 35 years in the NHS. 

He added: “I will miss colleagues at every level in the organisation, from board to ward, but have every confidence that with the wealth of leadership skills in my team and across the organisation, the trust will go from strength to strength. 

“As a resident of Oxford I have a vested interest in the success of OUH and will always do what I can to support the trust in the future.” 

Dr Berendt joined the Bone Infection Unit at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre as a consultant physician in 1997.

He became the centre’s medical director in 2004 before the NOC merged with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust to form Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2011.

With the trust also running Banbury's Horton General Hospital, he served as deputy medical director from 2011 to 2014.

He took up the role of medical director of OUH on an interim basis from April to September 2014, and has held the post on a permanent basis since October 2014. 

In a joint statement Dame Fiona and Dr Holthof thanked Dr Berendt for his ‘outstanding service’.

The statement went on: “Tony is a much valued member of the trust board and will be a hard act to follow.

“We will be very sorry to say goodbye to him later this year.”