Kate Bleasdale, the founder and former executive chairman of healthcare recruiter Healthcare Locums (HCL), says she is “devastated” by the current position of the company.

Bleasdale also criticises the strategy followed by the HCL board since she was dismissed by the company in March 2011. However, HCL rebuffs her criticism telling Recruiter that continuing to adopt the previous business model would not have been sensible.

Last week, HCL issued a statement to the City, in which it warned that poor trading conditions meant it might not meet its banking covenants in March and June. The firm said it had approached two major shareholders with a view to securing more capital to reduce debt and safeguard the business but that success was not guaranteed. 

Following the statement last week, HCL’s shares fell to a 52-week low of 0.54p; however, this morning [28 January] the price had risen to 0.61p.

Bleasdale tells Recruiter: “I am devastated that something that I grew and in which I invested £3.5m has come to this, and it’s a tragedy.”

She goes on to criticise the business model pursued by HCL following her sacking in March 2011, telling Recruiter: “They followed a different route and they chose to go on contract [framework agreements] at absolutely the wrong time in the market. They should have hunkered down and carried on. The healthcare staffing market is still one of the most exciting markets in the world.”

An HCL spokesperson hit back, telling Recruiter: “The NHS is our biggest customer. Given the challenge the NHS is facing at the moment with the Nicholson Challenge [to make efficiency savings of £20bn between 2011 and 2014] and the new health and social care act that came into effect in April, pursuing an off-contract model in the light of the changes would not have been sensible as the off-contract model is significantly reduced and smaller agencies are being squeezed out.

“The off-contract market doesn’t adhere to the stringent compliance standards that the on-contract market demands. High standards of compliance are something that HCL feels passionately about, and is at the heart of our business.”

Bleasdale says she is continuing to pursue her claim for compensation against HCL, having claimed £12m in damages against her former employer, a number of former colleagues for unfair dismissal, victimisation and sex discrimination.

Following a 15-day long employment tribunal last year, judges dismissed her claim. Bleasdale’s application to appeal was subsequently refused. However, she has since been granted a hearing with a judge, which is expected to take place at the end of May.

A City financial analyst, who asked not to be named, explains that pursuing her claim could be “problematical” for Bleasdale as, were HCL to go bust, Bleasdale would “join the line along with other unsecured creditors”.

However, she says she is determined to continue down this route even she ends up suing a company with no money to compensate her if she wins. “It’s not about the money, it’s about my reputation,” she says.