Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust has appointed a new chairman who aims to improve emergency access and reduce its deficit of £64m.
Mike Bell joined BHRUT, which runs King George and Queen’s hospitals, on Tuesday, December 1 as the new chairman following the departure of Joe Fielder at the end of his three-year term.
Mr Bell has more than 20 years of NHS experience and is the chairman of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust where he has worked for the past seven years.
He is also director of the consultancy firm, MBARC Ltd, which works with central and local government and various NHS bodies on issues relating to both social exclusion and quality assurance.
He said: “During my visits to the emergency departments at our two hospitals last month I was impressed by the dedication of my new colleagues and I was struck by the pressures they are facing with the second wave of Covid-19 and the onset of winter.
“As chair I will want to be assured that the wellbeing of our staff continues to be a priority and that the ongoing work to improve our culture delivers an organisation that makes it attractive to people to work here.”
During his seven years working in Croydon’s NHS Trust he helped lead it out of financial special measures and has championed integration measures that created new alliances with the local authority, commissioners, GPs, mental health services and the voluntary sector.
He said he plans to bring some of the successful integration strategies from Croydon to BHRUT to help coordinate services to provide better care.
Mr Bell added: “The trust has much to be proud of. In my early meetings I have been really impressed with the improvements in clinical leadership and the engagement in service planning and delivery that have been achieved over the past year.
“We are also leading the way in the support we provide our new nursing recruits from home and abroad.
“However, the reliable delivery of the four-hour emergency access standard has been a challenge for many years. Working with the board, one of my early priorities will be to first stabilise and then improve our performance. We also need to continue the work we’re doing to reduce our deficit.”