The massive has been 鈥渄riven into a ditch鈥 by watchdog Monitor, according to a governor.
This week, the huge organisation, which includes Heartlands, and , was told health bosses wanted to parachute Queen Elizabeth Hospital chief Dame Julie Moore and former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in to lead the troubled trust.
The health regulator Monitor launched an investigation into Heart of England after reports it had racked up 拢30 million of debt in just five months 鈥 and said that 鈥渋t must be fixed鈥.
But Heartlands Hospital governor Andrew Lydon blasted Monitor鈥檚 investigation, saying it 鈥渉ad been back-seat driving the trust for a year and driven it into a ditch鈥.
Mr Lydon said governors were 鈥渇urious鈥 at the handling of the investigation by the governing health body, which has been overseeing the trust since November after questions over its leadership and finances.
Monitor announced on Tuesday it was seeking to appoint Dame Julie Moore, who runs the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust, as interim chief executive.
Mr Lydon said governors were due to meet on Thursday evening to approve the proposals.
鈥淭he governors are furious,鈥 he told the Post.
鈥淟ast year we were told that this could happen but this year the handling is worse.
鈥淔or the last year Monitor has been back-seat driving HEFT, and they鈥檝e driven it into a ditch.
鈥淭he more control they have had in HEFT, the worse things have got.鈥
Monitor launched an , after reports it had racked up 拢30 million of debt in just five months.
It is one of the biggest trusts in the country, employing around 11,000 staff, and treating more than 1.2 million patients each year.
It announced it wanted to use its regulatory powers to appoint new leaders, after it found the trust.

Under proposals, Dame Julie Moore would step in as interim chief executive, while UHB chair and former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would join her.
She will replace Les Lawrence as chairman at Heart of England, who is due to step down in November.
But Mr Lydon warned that Dame Julie would have a huge challenge getting HEFT staff onside, due to a culture of fear against UHB cultivated at the trust.
鈥淔or some reason there is a lot of propaganda against UHB at the trust,鈥 he added. 鈥淗ealth care on the east side of Birmingham is very poor compared to the west, and there is a lot of fear that has been cultivated.
鈥淚 will not oppose the proposals, as we don鈥檛 have any alternative.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial that the situation is progressed quickly, to find out where all this money has gone.
鈥淟ocum and agency staff has been pinpointed but it can鈥檛 all be down to that.
鈥淭he biggest question is where has all the money gone? It鈥檚 a real scandal.鈥
In February, UHB confirmed it had been approached to help stabilise the .
However, interim chief executive Andrew Foster was appointed by the trust instead, along with improvement director Diane Whittingham, who was appointed by Monitor.
The Heart of England Trust stated that Mr Lydon鈥檚 comments did not represent those of the Trust.
Monitor鈥檚 response
A Monitor spokesman added: 鈥淗eart of England is a trust facing significant challenges.
鈥淟ike all foundation trusts it is an independent organisation under the regulation of Monitor. As its regulator, we鈥檝e taken action in the past to fix individual problems in the trust. Now that the trust has run up a deficit of 拢29.5 million and both the chief executive and chair posts have become vacant, we are planning to step in again and take more significant action.
鈥淲e are taking the opportunity to appoint two individuals who are well regarded as excellent leaders within the NHS to turn this trust around.
鈥淭he action we鈥檙e proposing is intended to ensure patients can receive quality care from this trust for years to come.鈥