Executive Directors

I am a nurse by background and have a passion for improvement and transformation.   

In my previous role as Chief Executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and learning disability provider, I spearheaded an inclusive and patient-centred approach and oversaw improvements in quality across the Trust.

I was also formerly Chief Executive at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, a provider of mental health, primary care, social care, learning disability and substance misuse services where the Trust was rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC under my leadership.

I am committed to working with our staff and patients to design and deliver high quality services for the communities of Norfolk and Suffolk.

I joined the Trust after nine years in executive roles in the Norfolk and Waveney health and care system. Since 2019, I was Chief Nurse for Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group.   

I trained as an Adult Registered Nurse in Cardiff. I worked in several clinical specialities before moving to Suffolk in 2005.  I worked in Ipswich Hospital in various roles. Then I moved to the Norfolk and Waveney system in 2013. 

I have a passion for solution-based improvements in patient and staff experience. I led the commissioning of services for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. I also led on the quality oversight of those services.   

I have led on many areas of the COVID-19 pandemic response across Norfolk and Waveney.  

I am proud to work for the NHS and delighted to have joined NSFT.  I look forward to supporting the Trust on our improvement journey. 

Portfolio

• Service user, carer and family experience
• Co-production 
• Service users and carers councils
• People participation leads and peer support workers
• Service User and Carer Strategy
• Recovery college
• Lived experience education and training
• Patient and Carer Race Equity Framework (PCREF)
• Anchor institutions
• Voluntary sector relationships
• Public health and health equity
• Suicide prevention
• PALS and complaints
• Freedom to Speak Up
• Chaplaincy
• Joint Deputy CEO

I joined the Trust in September 2024 and was previously Chief Medical Officer at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. I am a multi-professional clinical leader, with a wide portfolio of experience in leadership roles over the past 10 years, including executive leadership, system leadership and operations. 

Portfolio

• Leadership of medical staff
• Clinical outcomes
• Safe staffing (medical)
• Pharmacy and medicines management
• Clinical Strategy
• Advisor on mortality working (with the CNO)
• Research, development and innovation
• Medical education
• Mental Health legislation
• Caldicott Guardian
• Primary Care collaboration
• Joint Deputy CEO 

I have been with the NHS for 43 years, most recently as chief nurse and chief operating officer at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

I retired from the Trust in March 2023 and joined the North East Ambulance Service in May 2023 as a non-executive director.

I have been working with NSFT to improve services after the Learning from Deaths report in 2024.

I've been honoured with the Chief Nursing Officer for England Gold Medal award back in 2021 and have also received an MBE for services to mental health and learning disabilities in the NHS.

Portfolio

• Leadership of operational services
• Safe and efficient delivery of clinical services
• Clinical and operational model and delivery
• Efficiency, value and improvement
• Emergency Accountable Officer - Emergency preparedness, resilience and response
• Patient flow ensuring timely discharge and reduction of  out of Trust placements
• Access and waiting lists

 I joined the Trust in April 2024 as Chief Nurse from Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust I am a registered general nurse and registered mental health nurse.

 

I have previously worked at executive director level across clinical, managerial, commissioning and regulatory roles in mental health and social care systems, in both the UK and in the United States.

 

I am passionate about the human rights of people in mental health and learning disability services, with a focus on safe high quality services, good clinical governance and advocacy.  

Portfolio

• Safer Care - including the  Patient Safety Incident Response  Framework (PSIRF)
• Professional lead for nursing, allied health professionals, psychologists and social workers
• Safe staffing (non-medical) and temporary workforce
• Quality Strategy
• Quality Priorities and Quality Account
• Legal - Clinical
• Health, safety and security
• Safeguarding
• Prevent Lead
• Infection, prevention and control
• Medical devices
• Non-medical clinical education
• CQC responsible individual
• CQC compliance
• Physical health
• Learning from deaths and improvement from events
• Mortality and morbidity
• Clinical governance / clinical risk

I have worked in organisational development and Human Resources (HR) roles in the NHS for 25 years. With my most recent role as the Executive Director of Workforce and Communications at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. 

I will be focussed on supporting the development of our culture. One of our four strategic priorities is to improve our culture which I will be leading on, alongside the executive team. 

Portfolio

• People and Culture Strategy
• Talent and leadership development
• Culture and values
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• People management processes
• Workforce analytics
• Occupational health and wellbeing
• Staff survey
• Recruitment and retention
• Workforce race equality standard
• Workforce disability equality standard
• Organisational development
• Non-clinical training

I joined the Trust having previously held the role of Director of Commissioning Finance at the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board. I have worked in the NHS for more than 14 years, including holding Deputy Chief Finance Officer roles at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Norfolk Community Health and Care. I've experienced mental health issues through his family connections.

Portfolio

• Finance Strategy
• Financial Planning
• Financial Management
• Procurement
• Contracting and contract management
• Efficiency, value and improvement (strategic oversight)
• External audit
• Capital management and delivery
• Estates and facilities management
• Counter fraud
• Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO)
• Financial and Model Hospital benchmarking
• Sustainability and Green Plan
• Estates Strategy

I joined the Trust in December 2024 as Chief Transformation Officer.

I was previously Director of Safety, Security, Resilience and Trust Innovation at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

I have vast experience of the delivery of large and complex transformation programmes within the NHS and the wider healthcare system.

I am an advocate for compassionate and collective leadership, as well as for the implementation of consistent evidence-based and/or best practice. I believe in solutions that have a strategic, external focus and a culture of Service User, family, carer and staff engagement at the heart of everything I do.

Portfolio

• Clinical pathways  transformation
• Quality Improvement methodology
• Performance reporting
• Listening into Action
• Strategic clinical collaboratives
• Provider collaboratives
• Benchmarking
• Electronic patient record
• Information Governance, including Freedom of Information (FOI) and Subject Access Requests (SARs)
• Digital strategy
• Digital and business intelligence
•  

I started the role of Chief Delivery Officer in August 2025. Prior to starting in this role I worked in healthcare consultancy firm Baxendale in a Director role leading on improvement and transformation work. Prior to my role at Baxendale, I worked for PwC's Advisory team, specialising in operations, complex procurement and transformation.

I am totally committed to the Trust's ongoing improvement journey and to working with colleagues to deliver sustainable improvements and solutions to support the transformation of services so that everyone receives safer, kinder and better care.

Portfolio

• Communications and Engagement Strategy
• Internal and external communications and engagement
• Public engagement, consultation and stakeholder relationships
• Media and public relations
• Digital and crisis communications
• Charitable funds
• Health overview and scrutiny
• Trust Secretary
• Council of Governors
• Membership
• Offices of Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Team
• Risk management
• Internal Audit
• Policies management
• Legal services co-ordination
• Governance Strategy delivery
• Strategy and enabling strategy development and coordination
• Annual Planning
• Large Scale Change Programmes
• Commercial