New joint chief exec appointed to health trusts

APPOINTED: Jonathan Lofthouse

By Simon Bristow

A senior health service manager from London has been appointed as the new Joint Chief Executive for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG).

The Hull trust today said Jonathan Lofthouse had been appointed to the new role following “a comprehensive and robust national recruitment process”.

He is due to take up his post later this year.

Mr Lofthouse is currently Site Chief Executive (Princess Royal University Hospital and South Sites) at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London, and has significant experience of not only working in but also developing a group leadership structure for that organisation. He is was formerly Director of Improvement at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Sean Lyons, Joint Chair of the both the Hull and Northern Lincolnshire trusts, said: “We were pleased with the high quality of candidates who expressed an interest in this position during the advertisement period and we are very grateful to the 50 or more of our key stakeholders from across our ICP region, as well our internal workforce, who helped us to make this appointment, which has been ratified by the NLaG board of governors.

“Jonathan’s experience and background make him well suited to helping HUTH and NLaG tackle some of our most challenging joint issues around flow, elective backlog, patient environments, and the recruitment and retention of staff. I know that both stakeholders and those on the interview panel were impressed with Jonathan’s approach, creativity and commitment to unleashing the potential of our staff. We look forward to working with him.”

The appointment follows an agreement between the boards at HUTH and NLaG last November that the two organisations would adopt a Group Leadership Model of management.

While the trusts will continue to be two separate organisations they will, in future, share an executive team. Earlier this week HUTH Chief Executive Chris Long informed staff he will retire from his position and the NHS once the new Joint Chief Executive is in post.

NLaG Chief Executive Peter Reading, meanwhile, will be taking up the post of Interim Chief Executive at Yorkshire Ambulance Service next month, after current Chief Executive, Rod Barnes announced he would be stepping down at the end of May.

Mr Lofthouse said: “I am both thrilled and humbled to be joining both trusts as new Joint Chief Executive, and would like to pay tribute to both Chris Long and Peter Reading for their leadership and dedication.

“As part of my recruitment process I have already enjoyed visits to all five of the group’s core sites and met many dedicated staff. I greatly look forward to working with them all as we move forward with our harmonisation of group. I see this as the most exciting and fantastic time to be joining and am very much looking forward to moving up to the community.”