Healthcare Locums Plc (HLO:LSE), the troubled health and social care staffing firm, has announced that it has appointed three Executive Directors to the board, all with immediate effect.

Stephen Burke is appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer. Burke has approximately 30 years experience of working in international recruitment companies, since 2001 at senior board level. Burke was previously Managing Director of Michael Page UK and a main Board Director of Michael Page International Plc. He joined Michael Page in the early 1980s shortly after graduation, and spent the following 24 years with the group, during which time he worked across many of its business units as a divisional Managing Director, both in the UK and in Europe. He was responsible for significant growth in each of the business units and was appointed to the Michael Page Board in 2001 as one of four Executive Directors. He played a central role in the group's full listing in 2001 and subsequent position in the FTSE 250. Burke left Michael Page in 2005 to develop his career as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of both listed and private companies. He has most recently been a Non-Executive Board Director for Matchtech Group, the AIM listed technical and professional services recruitment company, a post he has held since 2006.

In addition, Colin Whipp is appointed to the board as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer. Whipp, a Chartered Accountant, has played a significant role in advising HCL since March and is taking up his interim role while both he and the Company consider options for a permanent appointment in due course. Whipp has extensive senior experience in multinational companies in the health sector and has worked in a number of turnaround situations in the public and private sectors.

The final board appointment is that of Andrew McRae, who continues as Managing Director of Healthcare Australia Holdings Pty Ltd (HCA). McRae was instrumental in overseeing the successful integration into HCL of HCA, which was acquired in December 2010. Formerly Managing Director of international operations at Hays Plc, and an Executive Director of HCL, McRae is a Chartered Accountant and has worked in the human capital sector for the last 16 years and in the specialist recruitment sector for the last six years.

The board of HCL believes that the creation of an entirely new, strong, well regarded and experienced management team is an important milestone in the progress being made in stabilising the business since  suspension of its CFO and Executive Vice Chairman on 25 January 2011 and the subsequent suspension of its shares from trading on AIM.  The Board of HCL now comprises three Executive Directors and two Non-Executive Directors.

In addition the board states that it is in the final stages of appointing an additional independent Non-Executive Director and will update the market in due course.

It is the board's present intention to announce a comprehensive update to shareholders by the end of June 2011, which will include the 2010 financial results, details on current trading and the outcome of the ongoing investigations into accounting irregularities. The board's priority is to ensure that the suspension of the company's shares from trading on AIM is lifted as soon as possible.

Peter Sullivan, Non-Executive Chairman of HCL, commented "we are delighted that Stephen has joined the Company, and also that we have further strengthened the Board with the additional expertise and executive appointments of Colin and Andrew. Stephen, Colin and Andrew are experts in their field and have already shown a very clear commitment to the future of the company. This commitment, together with their combined experience, will be invaluable to the Company as we strive to return to a stable and successful operating company, and build on our position as a leading international healthcare staffing business."

As of last trade, Healthcare Locums' shares traded at 112.50 Pence, +29.31% above the 52 week low of 87.00 Pence set on 17 December 2010.