Introduction from David Wakefield, Chair

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and these fabulous opportunities to join our Board as one of two new Associate Non-Executive Directors. I hope that you enjoy finding out more about our Trust, our values, ambitions, and how your professional and personal experience could offer a fresh perspective to the decision making of our Board.

We are by any measure a large and complex organisation and are one of the country’s largest University Hospitals.  We have an annual income of c£1.1b and over 12,300 dedicated staff operating across two busy acute sites at Royal Stoke University Hospital and the County Hospital at Stafford.  We provide a wide range of acute and specialist healthcare services to our local populations in Staffordshire, South Cheshire, and Shropshire, and are also a Major Trauma Centre for a wider population of 3 million people stretching from Anglesey to the Peak District. 

We have made significant progress in tackling financial, operational, and cultural challenges, and our programme of ‘Improving Together’ is embedding quality improvement as a fundamental part of our culture. As a key partner in the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care System, we continue to play a role in the system-wide programme to improve our population’s health as a key area of focus in our transformation.

Our Board has developed as a highly collaborative, effective, and cohesive unit and we continue to bring broader and more diverse voices to the team.  At this challenging time in our sector, we are seeking to appoint two Associate Non-Executive Directors to our Board. 

For one of the roles we are seeking an individual who brings astute financial acumen and the ability to quickly interpret complex performance metrics.  Previous NHS experience is not essential; you will demonstrate the ability to translate your experience to add value in our context at a time of intense resourcing pressures.  For the second role we are seeking an experience clinical leader with board level or equivalent experience who will seek assurance of our continued improvement in our quality, safety, clinical outcomes and patient experience.  Our Associate Non-Executive Directors participate in all aspects of the workings of our Board and we have a strong track record of them frequently progressing quickly to full Non-Executive Director responsibilities as and when appropriate vacancies arise.

For both roles we are keen to hear from values-driven leaders; who are committed to advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. These are great opportunities to influence transformation across our organisation and system and proudly improve services for our communities. You should bring a passion for our work, a strong understanding of good governance, and positive energy to challenge and support our Board and help us to continue our journey of improvement.   I am particularly keen to encourage applications from people who bring different lived experience to our Board and who provide a fresh perspective to our strategic decision making; ensuring that our Board represents the communities we serve and the staff who serve them.

If you are interested in one of these exciting opportunities, then I encourage you to read further on this site and contact our retained consultants at GatenbySanderson in the first instance for a confidential discussion; Eleanor Lawrence, Isha Hussain, Julia St Clare or Emma Pickup at GatenbySanderson on eleanor.lawrence@gatenbysanderson.com or 07900601622 or isha.hussain@gatenbysanderson.com.

I look forward to meeting you during the process.

David Wakefield, Chair