(Susan Franklyn)
Valerie Sinclair took over as hospital administrator at the start of series 3. She was immediately beseiged by an angry Ewart Plimmer when cutbacks meant she had to make the tough decision to close the observation ward. Ewart went to her superiors and bullied them into changing their minds but Valerie was angry with the way he had behaved. Unlike Ewart, who believed that it didn't matter how he got what what he wanted as long as he got it, Valerie believed in being strait with people. Ewart apologised for his behaviour, but it was easy to forgive him. After all, he was fighting for the welfare of the patients. After Ewart's death Valerie had to negotiate with Charlie Fairhead. The two got on well and fell in love for a time. Charlie appreciated Valerie's caring qualities but also knew that she was a realist. The job required her to make cutbacks but she also fought hard to maintain a high standard of patient care. Porter Kuba Trzcinski suffered as Valerie abolished departmental porters at the end of series 3. But as series 4 unfolded it was clear that this cutback was a mistake (there was never a porter around when you needed one) so she reintroduced them. She left at the end of series 4 and Holby missed her as a succession of tough, uncompromising administrators followed in her footsteps.
Written by Christopher Watson