Professor Derek Bell OBE - Joint Chairman

Joint Chairman for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Derek has 40 years’ experience in the NHS and previously served as President of the Royal College of Physicians. He was awarded an OBE in 2018 for services to unscheduled care and quality improvement.

Julie Gillon - Chief executive

Background:

Julie joined the Trust in 2002 within strategic management roles, prior to taking on the joint role as chief operating officer and deputy chief executive.

During that time, she was responsible for managing a significant and complex portfolio in addition to supporting the then Chief Executive and Board – ensuring the successful delivery of quality, financial and operational performance. She also had responsibility for leading agendas including emergency preparedness and cancer service delivery.

She successfully delivered the key compliance elements of the monitor terms of authorisation, as well as directing the annual clinical services strategic development plans and managed service transformation to support strategic direction.

In 2017 Julie was appointed interim chief executive for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust. Since then, she has continued to oversee the strategic direction of the Trust. Working and engaging with clinicians, other staff throughout the Trust and external partners to further develop a clinical and financial sustainability model.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

Julie is committed to improving population health outcomes for patients and the wider community throughout the region.

Levi Buckley - Chief Operating Officer

Portfolio:

• Care groups
• Emergency planning

Core objectives:

To ensure the Trust delivers operational targets such as waiting times and ensures that the trust delivers high performing services for patients.

Background:

Levi joined the NHS in 1998 as a management trainee working at Newcastle Hospitals Trust and Newcastle PCT as a management trainee after working in social care. He has worked in health and care for over 25 years, and is dedicated to working in partnership to make a real difference for staff and the communities the Trust serves.

Having lived in the north east since 1990 Levi has worked for, and with, organisations across the north east in a variety of health and social care settings for 30 years providing a breadth of knowledge and skills that supports him in the Chief Operating Officer role. His NHS career has spanned acute and emergency hospital care, community health services, health promotion, community development, local authorities, commissioning, offender health, and mental health and learning disability services. Levi is also Accountable Officer for EPRR at North Tees and Hartlepool FT.

Ambitions for the Trust:

• To have the highest ambition for our local population in improving their health and wellbeing
• To continue to be a national leader in providing out of hospital care that keeps people healthy and safe at home and reduces the demand for hospital based care.
• To be an excellent place to work, ensuring the wellbeing of staff is at the heart of what we do, and ensure equality, inclusion and diversity for all.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• Maximise the benefits of collaboration across primary, secondary and social care to ensure we are using resources in a clinically and cost effective way
• Create jobs and training opportunities that support career aspirations for our local communities
• Give children the best start in life and support them and their families in making healthy lifestyle choices.

Neil Atkinson - Director of finance

Portfolio:

• Finance
• Financial management
• Accounts payable
• Accounts receivable
• Costing
• Contracting
• Payroll
• Cashiers
• Capital
• Business Intelligence
• Annual accounts/financial reporting
• Estates redevelopment

Core objectives:

• Achievement of Group Financial Plan (incl. subsidiaries)
• Medium Term Financial Planning (incl. capital and contract with commissioners)
• Work closely with PMIO to deliver Efficiency programme
• Develop capacity and capability of finance team – Finance Improvement Plan
• Oversee the delivery of the LLP/MSA
• Patient level information costing services
• Tees Valley Pathology Collaboration – SRO
• Estate redevelopment

Background:

Neil joined the NHS in 1997 via the NHS National Graduate Scheme, qualifying as an accountant in 2000. Neil has worked within a number of provider and commissioning organisations, allowing an appreciation of the importance of financial and procurement teams working closely with clinical and operational teams to deliver excellent patient care.

Neil is passionate about supporting and developing finance teams to deliver high quality finance support.

Neil has held senior roles at both Operational Director of Finance at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, and currently as Director of Finance at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust since 2018.

Body membership:

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Ambitions for the Trust:

• Financial stability and sustainability which will allow us to invest into our services and deliver great patient care
• Estates redevelopment – ensure we have a facility that allows us to deliver excellent patient care and provide a fantastic environment for our staff
• Strengthen our position across the Tees Valley and ensure we continue our recovery from  Covid 19 – continue to grow our quality services and care for patients

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• Build on partnership working (pathology etc)– strengthen relationships, influence the agenda, identify savings, get the best value for the Tees pound
• Financial stability and sustainability across the ICP – by ensuring that funding is appropriate and reflective of the needs of the local population
• Improved patient and staff outcomes across the Tees Valley – supported by an ambitious capital and service plan. Secure money to be able to transform services

Deepak Dwarakanath - Medical director

Background:

In 1986 Deepak qualified as a consultant gastroenterologist, and began working at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in 1996.

Deepak was appointed to Medical Director in 2016, providing clinical and managerial leadership for the medical workforce of the Trust.

He works closely with the Chief Nurse in ensuring that high quality, safe patient care and efficient practice is always optimised to meet the needs of patients and their families.

Body memberships:

• General Medical Council (GMC)

Ambitions for the Trust:

• To ensure that the workforce of the organisation drives for a positive population health
• To recruit and retain the very best medical workforce, offering the latitude to innovate and develop services to adapt to our patient needs
• To ensure that collaboration continues to be at the heart of our delivery via our local authorities, partner organisations, neighboring trusts and other critical community partners

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• To work to develop a Tees health and care system that offers principally a more aspirant population health outlook.

Lindsey Robertson - Chief nurse and director of patient safety and quality

Background:

Lindsey qualified as an adult nurse in 1994 and then progressed to a dual qualification in children’s nursing.  Lindsey’s background is in critical care, community and safeguarding.  She joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in 2009 and became the Chief Nurse in 2020.  Lindsey is committed to the NHS and ensuring quality and safe patient care is provided at all times and that patient experience and outcomes is continually improved.

Ambitions for the Trust:

Lindsey is committed to the NHS and ensuring quality and safe patient care is provided at all times and that patient experience and outcomes is continually improved.

Susy Cook - Chief People Officer

Portfolio:

• Workforce
• Organisational development
• Leadership development
• Talent management
• Medical education
• Learning and teaching

Core objectives:

• Provide strategic leadership –being a trusted advisor on all people issues, providing professional expertise and leadership on all aspects of people practices and workforce strategies
• Ensure a focus on people practices
• Provide leadership to the people committee
• Develop strategic plans aligned to the key priorities related to people practices
• Deliver future workforce structures, change management and development in line with required capability and capacity to lead the people journey in the trust

Background:

Susy has worked across the NHS and academia for over 20 years across a number of roles including biochemist, manager, director, coach, leadership and organizational development lead, improver and academic.

Susy Joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in May 2022 and is now Chief People Officer for the organisation. Susy has also worked to support Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay and Liverpool University Foundation Trust throughout her career.

Body membership:

• Chartered MCIPD
• Association of Psychological Therapies-  Accredited Solution Focused Therapy February 2022
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy (PR156438):2018

 Ambitions for the Trust:

• To further develop a workforce pipeline through “grow our own” to meet workforce demands and create more succession planning and talent management pathways.
• Continue to foster a culture of compassion and inclusion
• Ensure our people team continues to strive for excellence and support the organisational need

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• “Grow our own” for the future of Tees Valley
• Foster and further establish partnership working to enable the people agenda
• Support the provision of opportunities for our people of the region to work and thrive across Tees valley healthcare

Gillian Colquhoun - Chief information and technology officer/SIRO

Portfolio:

• Digital programme team
• Information governance/data protection officer
• Health records
• Information management
• Clinical coding
• System administration
• ICT services
• CareScan+ (point of care scanning) team

Core objectives:

• Lead digital transformation to ensure that all clinical services are designed around our patient and populations, driven by improving clinical outcomes in line with organisational vision, values and supporting strategies
• Drive innovation in digital solutions, in line with local, regional, and national priorities
• Develop resilience and capability with regards to cyber security

Background:

Gillian joined the NHS in 2002 working within a number of roles within information and technology services, delivering digital solutions that aim to transform the way patient care is delivered.

Gillian joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in 2013. At that time the organisation had made the decision to change their aging patient administration system (PAS). Gillian supported the leadership of the implementation of the Trust’s electronic patient record (EPR) ambitions, leading on the digital strategy.

The Trust gained recognition from NHS Digital in 2021 for contribution to the Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme, resulting in acknowledgement as a national ‘Digital Leader’.

Ambitions for the Trust:

• Continue to invest in digital systems and services (i.e people, process and technolgy) to place Trust on par with Global Digital leaders and best in class internationally.
•  Raise the digital maturity to the highest recognised level that is clinically driven and improves outcomes.
• Increase and embed the ownership and leadership of the digital agenda as part of the broader transformation agenda within the Trust.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• Working as a collaborative health and care system to enable seamless accessibility to healthcare information regardless of setting, to aid informed decision making.
• Providing safe and secure tools for patients to be empowered in contributing to their care, ensuring digital inclusivity is at the forefront.
• Providing high quality data that can be used to support research (where appropriate) to improve health outcomes for our population.

Linda Hunter - Director of planning and performance

Portfolio:

• Project management and improvement office
• Business intelligence
• Strategic cancer lead and team
• Booking office

Core objectives:

• Lead and co-ordination of strategic planning
• Strategic development underpinned by annual business planning
• Service change
• Performance management
• Partnership and collaborative working
• Project management

Background:

Linda has worked within the NHS and local authorities for over 20 years. Commencing her career in finance at University Hospital of Hartlepool. Linda then moved to the local authority in Hartlepool as part of the team that established the first Sure Start programme in the town, delivering services for children and their families.

Linda has also held a number of service improvement roles working across primary care and community services. She has experience of ambitious system working and collaboration, brought about by a joint role she held across health and social care.

Linda rejoined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust within the community directorate as a general manager. This involved working within key areas including business and the management of nursing services.

Linda joined the programme management team and was responsible for developing the clinical services strategy for the Tees Valley. From there she moved into the role of deputy director of planning and performance, before moving into her current post of director of planning and performance.

Ambitions for the Trust:

• To continuously strive to deliver safe, efficient and effective services for our population.
• To be the employer of choice for our region

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

To ensure that the work of our region is truly celebrated, as we continue to deliver innovation and transformation for our patients and communities in this region, but also for the benefit of the wider NHS landscape through a collaborative and learning approach.

Steve Hall - Vice chair and independent non executive director

Overview:

Steve is passionate about our area and the people of Hartlepool and the Tees Valley. He brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the Trust from his business portfolio and management career.

Steve’s fellowship of the Royal Society helps bring an external challenge and his role as a presiding justice to adult and family courts brings understanding and compassion in the very real social and economic and depravation issues facing our community and our patients.

Steve is always seeking to further the Trust values both regionally and nationally and never compromise putting patients first.

• Finance Committee
• Patient Safety and Quality Transformation Chair
• Remuneration Committee
• Director of Optimus Health and Board link to the Trust LLP
• Board Champion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Health Inequalities

Ambitions for the Trust:

•  To provide the very best outcomes for our population
• To embrace changes and inclusion.
• To deliver a sustainable system led health and social care solution across the Tees Valley.

Ambition for Tees Valley healthcare and Landscape:

• Create an environment of collaboration across the system.
• Improve engagement with our partners and stakeholders.
• Embrace opportunities and positioning for the community we serve.

Fay Scullion - Non executive director

Overview:

Fay is responsible for being assured that the Trust meets all of its obligations. The role is about having vison, helping the Trust formulate plans and strategy so that we can best meet the needs of the people who access all of the Trust services, and ensuring that the executive team perform to high standards of conduct. Working with the executive board, Fay holds responsibility for ensuring that all of its leadership responsibilities to patients, as well as the healthcare of the community are fulfilled, and works within the financial and legal frameworks.

What teams/portfolio do you manage:

• Member of patient safety and quality committee
• Member of the finance committee
• Non-executive champion for freedom to speak up (FTSU)

Background:

Fay is a registered nurse by background and has worked in a variety of settings across the North East in a range of senior posts.

Fay has an interest in the disease profile of the North East became involved in the care of cancer patients in general settings. She moved into the voluntary sector and worked in various regional and national development roles, latterly as director of partnerships for Macmillan Cancer Support.  This work across the UK involved transforming cancer services with a range of partners, from local organisations, the NHS to National Governments. Since retiring from full time employment, Fay also works as a volunteer governor in a secondary school trust.

Professional Body memberships:

• NMC Registered Nurse

Ambitions for the Trust:

• To have the best, high quality and safe care for all the patients to access the Trust
• To be the leader of creative and innovative services that meet patient needs
• To be recognised as a system leader within the new healthcare systems that are developing

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• To have integrated care in the best place for the individual
• To engage and work with the wider community assets to provide services to allow care at home
• To be the UK leader in demonstrating partnership working across the landscape, to include all providers of any service – beyond health and social care norms

Ann Baxter - Independent non executive director

Overview:

 Ann is responsible for chairing our p and q, people and safeguarding committees. She is also the maternity champion for the Trust board, and the organisation’s health and wellbeing champion.

Ann attends the joint partnership board with colleagues from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, safety panel, patient experience committee and the performance, planning and compliance committee.

Background:

 Ann trained as a social worker and worked in local government for 45 years. Throughout her career she worked in various teams in London, Devon, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

Ann joined Stockton Borough Council in 1996, and was the director of services for adults and children until 2008, when she became director in the London Borough of Camden.

Since retiring from a full time role, she has worked as a regional advisor for the Local Government Association across the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside, advised on national reviews and chaired the Teesside Safeguarding Adults Board. Ann currently chairs safeguarding boards in Darlington, and is a Governor at a large comprehensive school.

Ann joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust as a non-executive director in 2019.

Body Memberships:

• British Association of Social Work.

Ambitions for the Trust:

•  To deliver the highest quality services for those people who need our care
• To look after the health and well-being of our staff, so we are a great place to work.
• To be a good partner across our health and social care system

Ambition for Tees Valley healthcare and Landscape:

• To work well together as positive partners across health and social care systems.
• To improve the health of our population
• To raise the profile of all the high quality services delivered.

Chris Macklin - Non executive director (chair of finance, audit and charitable funds committees)

Overview:

Chris provides independent judgement and advice on issues of strategy, vision, performance, resources and standards of conduct and constructively challenge, influence and help the executive develop proposals on such strategies to enable the organisation to fulfil its leadership responsibilities for developing and enhancing the health of the population it serves.

In particular he ensures the financial information prepared is accurate, and that financial controls and risk management systems are robust and defensible and ensuring the Trust’s internal governance arrangements conform with best practice and statutory requirements.

• Chair of Audit Committee
• Chair of Finance Committee
• Chair of Charitable Funds Committee
• Senior Independent Director (S.I.D.)

Background:

Chris has worked within finance in the NHS since 1975. He commenced his first director of finance role at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead in 1997. Chris has a wealth of experience working within a provider setting, and within the commissioning side of the NHS.

Chris has held the role of Director of Finance within commissioning for Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside. After retiring as a DOF in 2015, he was encouraged to remain in the NHS, taking up his frrst non-executive director post in 2015.

Throughout his career as a DOF and a non-executive Director, Chris has sat on and chaired a number of national committees relating to NHS Accounting Standards and Governance / Audit.

 Professional Body memberships:

• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (C.P.F.A.)
• Qualified Accountant Member
• Honorary Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (H.F.M.A.)

Ambitions for the Trust:

• To be the provider of first choice for the local population delivering standards/quality of healthcare second to none.
• To be a compassionate and listening organisation which values its staff and encourages everyone to maximize there potential.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

To have a coordinated and collaborative health and social care system dedicated to improving and enhancing the health of the population thus reducing the significant health inequalities that currently exist.

Alison Fellows - Non executive director

Overview:

Alison was appointed as a non-executive director of the Trust in 2023.  She sits on the Trust  performance, planning and compliance committee and the audit committee.

Background:

Alison grew up on Teesside. After qualifying as a solicitor, she was a partner in a Newcastle law firm, working on commercial projects, including the procurement and construction of new hospitals.

Alison then moved into the public sector and worked in regeneration at both Newcastle and Sunderland Councils, before becoming the Group Commercial Director of Tees Valley Combined Authority. At TVCA she held responsibility for a wide range of investment projects across the region. Alison also held a role as Commercial Director of Teesside Airport.

She is currently a non-executive director of Gentoo Group in Sunderland and a trustee of a charity in Newcastle.

 Ambitions for the Trust:

• That we deliver the best possible care for the people we serve.
• That we are a forward thinking and innovative organisation.
• That our staff want to work in this Trust and can develop to their fullest potential with us.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• That we work with our NHS partners and wider stakeholders to find the most effective pathways and settings for our patients to get the care they need.
• That we innovate to find new ways to work for the benefit of our patients.
• That we strive together to address the health and social inequalities in our region.

Professor Liz Barnes - Non executive director

Overview:

Liz joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in 2023, and is the lead non executive director for equality and diversity and patient safety.

Liz has spent her career in Higher Education, working in four universities. She commenced at Teesside University where she was a lecturer in physiology. She also spent a number of years as Deputy Dean of Health and Social Care before becoming Dean of Social Sciences and Law.

Liz finished her education career as Vice Chancellor of Staffordshire University. She has served as a trustee and non-executive director with a number of organisations including schools, universities, a housing association, a private training provider. She also chairs a charity protecting children and their families from sexual exploitation. Liz has committed her career ambitions in line with social mobility and the difference a good education can make to enable all to achieve their potential.

 Ambitions for the Trust:

• To reduce health inequalities enabling all to live the healthiest lives that they can.
• To provide the best health care experience for all of its patients across all services.
• To continue to research and innovate ensuring that clinical services respond to emerging needs.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• Access for all wherever they are to the health care that they need.
• A joined up and integrated health and care offer, demonstrating best practice in collaborative working.
• Improved mortality rates.

James Bromiley - Non executive director

Overview:

James is the chair of the Trust audit committee and also a member of the Planning and Performance and Transformation Committees.

He has spent most of his career to date in senior roles across the public sector. Having started his career in the National Audit Office, he trained there as a chartered accountant.

James also held roles as a senior civil servant at the Department for Education, HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, in both policy and corporate services roles. More recently he was programme director with the responsibility of setting up the Tees Valley Combined Authority. James also served as strategic director of corporate services at Middlesbrough Council. Until recently he was deputy CEO and CFO for Elevate Multi Academy Trust.

Professional body membership:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

 Ambitions for the Trust:

• To continue to provide the best possible care for the population we serve.
• To be confident in leading change where it is beneficial.
• To ensure that we use public money effectively and efficiently.

Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape:

• To work collaboratively across the NHS, local authorities and other partners to deliver great care.
• To work tirelessly to highlight and promote health education and to aim to even out health inequalities.
• To ensure that we get fair levels of funding for our population so that we can provide the healthcare our population deserve.