Chief Executive

• Oct 2023 - Present

Chief Operations Officer

• Oct 2022 - Oct 2023

Here at Evergreen Life we believe passionately in people powered health. Between us we have hundreds of years experience in clinical healthcare and IT.

Chief Executive Officer

• Jan 2019 - Sep 2022

Achievements include A clear positive change in organisational culture and an outstanding Staff Engagement Programme, which focuses on kindness, wellness and fairness; with evidence of year-on-year improvements to staff experience and engagement scores, placing a huge focus on minority staff groups, introducing BAEM and LGBT networks A strong, cohesive and substantive leadership team in place that is committed to making sustainable changes for the patients, their families and staff An absolute commitment, consistency, to openness and transparency, best evidence by the recent Duty of Candour Covid exercise the Trust completed A clear five-year Corporate Strategy and vision for the future, which is well-understood at different levels of the organisation – and focuses on Quality, Engagement and Healthy Lives. Evidence that there is a culture of learning and continuous improvement developing, as evidenced by the Trust’s approach to Quality Improvement and building capability for change across the organisation Outstanding external and partner engagement, including QEH’s contributions to system work which has improved immeasurably Significant investment in the estate, facilities and digital infrastructure, including: purchase of the Sandringham Hospital in 2020 and new 26-bed elective treatment centre which was operational within 4-weeks, which is making such a difference to tackling the elective backlog and enabling patients to be assessed, screened and treated in a safe, high quality environment. The Trust has also opened an impressive a new charity-funded Cancer Wellbeing and Support Centre, New Same Day Emergency Care Unit, an improved Discharge Lounge, and made strong progress with the digitisation of QEH, with Electronic-Prescribing, Single Sign On and a new Radiology Information System now in place Show less

Chief Operating Officer, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH)- Deputy CEO

• Oct 2014 - Dec 2018

NUH is a huge teaching trust with 14,000 staff, a turnover in excess of £900m and a catchment area of around four million people. It is now a Biomedical Research Centre (which I helped bring about) and is transforming services in a Strategic Transformation Programme with all the areas major partner bodies, benefiting patients and spreading the use of resources. As COO, I run the hospital day to day and report to the Chief Executive, Dr. Peter Homa. Selected Achievements: • Implementing the delivery of a step change in NUH’s research profile using £23.6m won for a biomedical centre, an additional £2.4m for clinical research funding and a £1.6m research capability grant. • Reducing nine Directorates to five Divisions, managing the staff exits, recruiting and role changes required, creating the necessary structure for clear accountability as a necessary first step towards culture change. • Meeting a £40m cost improvement programme target and all other financial goals for 2015/16. • Winning the respect of staff across NUH for my vision of the Trust’s future, marrying optimism, realism and a “firm but fair” style of leadership. • Coping with changes required to my operational transformation plans necessitated by the loss of key staff to plan a new relationship with a challenged local acute trust. • Creating clearly accountable strategic management groups to run the Operations Directorate, introducing much needed clarity on the Trust’s performance and which teams need improvement. • Designing recovery and turnaround plans encompassing everything from external communications and stakeholder relations to the clinical leadership culture change that greater performance will require. • Coaching the Estates Director to bring the Function in-house, creating an estates strategy, scenario planning a future for the Trust’s buildings under different potential future financial climates to deliver its services. Show less

Chief Executive

• Jun 2005 - Oct 2014

The largest cancer treatment centre in Europe, The Christie is also an international leader in cancer research. It covers 3.2 million people and runs clinics at 16 other general hospitals. It is home to Europe's largest clinical trials unit. As its Chief Executive, my mission was to a failing provider threatened with merger to full independence as an FT, creating an international centre of best practice in care, research and resource management, which I did. Selected Achievements: • Successfully established clear and supportive relationships with my Non-Executive Board, working with the Chair to maximise NEDs’ professional contribution and benefiting from their professional knowledge. • Took the unit to FT status, turning around the Trust’s finances (£3.4m deficit to £8.6m surplus) by closing services, moving them to other providers, and investing savings in more profitable services. • Ensured no patient travelled for longer than 25 minutes to receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy by building a network of services in other providers, the first service of its kind. • Built strong additional funding streams leveraging the Christie’s USP of its research capacity, including from AstraZeneca. • Used an increased level of staff engagement (“Team Christie”) to benefit not only patient care but finances, enlisting them in charity drives that almost doubled the money raised. • Changed perceptions of The Trust by delivering a stakeholder engagement and media strategy including building a personal relationship with Manchester City Council and key commissioners. • Established the UK’s first proton therapy centre in a competitive bid, securing DH approval for a £136m investment, and implemented a £100m capital programme that achieved its ROI. • Furthered The Christie’s international presence, including partnering with the University of Singapore to educate their local clinical staff, using the fees to grow the UK service. Show less

Regional Director of Provider Development

• Sep 2010 - Jan 2012

My success at The Christie led to my secondment by the SHA to this region-wide turnaround role. I was chosen from all the region’s CEOs to lead the turnaround of 14 providers, leading to FT status to merge with higher performing units. I designed and delivered a strategic plan for provider development across the North West. Selected Achievements: • Mapped out the external stakeholders including Government Ministers, Senior Civil Servants, MPs, Local Authorities and others, then managed interactions with them to smooth the programme’s path. • Worked in a mature, fair but robust manner with the leaders of underperforming Trusts, creating with them realistic plans for their future given resource and skills constraints. • Negotiated with 14 Trusts their future as FTs or the restructuring of their services. • Successfully programme managed the £1bn transfer of 26,000 Primary Care Trust staff to acute providers. Show less