The chairman of a hospital trust at the centre of an infection scandal has resigned following calls for the entire board to step down.

James Lee's decision to leave Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust, where clostridium difficile caused the deaths of 90 patients, was disclosed to the House of Commons by Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary.

Mr Johnson went on to apologise to those affected on behalf of the Government and the NHS, describing last week's Healthcare Commission report into the trust's C. difficile outbreaks as “a truly shocking document”.

The trust's chief executive, Rose Gibb, resigned three days before the publication of the report, which found a “litany” of errors in infection control at all levels of management at Maidstone, the Kent and Sussex and Pembury hospitals.

Earlier today, Mr Johnson announced a Department of Health review into Mr Lee's role and the decision-making processes that resulted in Ms Gibb being offered a six-figure severance package.

The Health Secretary ordered the trust to withhold the payment to Ms Gibb, pending legal advice.

Mr Lee told The Times last week that he had also offered to resign on publication of the report, but that his offer had been rejected by the trust board.

But when the leader of Kent County Council called for the chairman and entire board to step down today, Mr Lee's second offer of resignation was accepted.

The council has also offered the trust a £5 million loan to help to restore public confidence in hospitals where 1,176 patients were infected with C. difficile during two outbreaks between April 2004 and September 2006. Of those, at least 345 people later died.

The official report concluded that C. difficile was probably or definitely the main cause of death in 90 cases.

The council leader, Paul Carter, said: “I genuinely believe the National Health Service, to a degree, has lost its dignity and humanity.”

In the Commons, Mr Johnson said that the Government had made clear that cutting hospital-acquired infections should be a priority for the NHS with the aim of reducing C. difficile infections by 30 per cent by March 2011.

Kent Air Ambulance Trust said that it had now resumed flights to Maidstone Hospital after receiving personal assurances that it was safe. The service had boycotted the hospital on the day of the Health Commission report, saying it was “deeply concerned”.

The interim chief executive of the NHS trust, Glenn Douglas, attended today's crisis meeting at Kent's County Hall with Steve Phoenix, chief executive of the West Kent Primary Care Trust, which was also criticised by the Healthcare Commission.

The two health managers apologised for poor patient care at the trust and welcomed offers of help from the council, which said that the £5 million loan would be available to the trust over the next two to three years.

The council also wants to set up an independent hotline for patients to contact if they want to lodge a complaint about the trust.

Mr Phoenix said that there had been significant improvements in the past 12 months and Mr Douglas promised “zero tolerance” of C. difficile in the future.

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