Appointment of Professor Clair Chilvers as Chair to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

30/09/2010

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Clair Chilvers to the position of Chair.

Professor Chilvers is currently Chair of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, one of the largest mental health and learning disability service providers in the UK, which includes community, medium secure and high secure services in its portfolio. During her three and a half years with the Trust it has grown in strength and reputation and she, in partnership with the Chief Executive, has been instrumental in leading it to being fit for Foundation Trust status.

Professor Chilvers who was brought up in Gloucestershire and went to school in Cheltenham, said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed and look forward very much to working with the team in Gloucestershire. In my current role I have aimed to provide clear strategic thinking but also to keep my feet firmly on the ground by visiting all areas of my current Trust. My favourite way to do this is to work alongside a healthcare assistant for a half a day.

“I believe passionately that the most important people in the NHS are the people who use our healthcare services, their families and carers and in the coming years it will become even more crucial to speak with them and listen to them. I look forward to doing this in Gloucestershire and continuing the strong leadership shown by Dame Janet Trotter.”

The appointment was made by a panel of the Governors of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust following interviews on Tuesday September 28th.

Lead Governor, Professor Michael Orme, said: “I am delighted that we have appointed such a well respected and committed person to this critical position within our Trust. In Professor Chilvers I am confident that we have an individual of great talent who has experience of working with Governors and who will be able to lead us into the future.”

Chief Executive, Dr Frank Harsent said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Professor Chilvers, whose experience and approach will I feel be a great asset to our Trust during the significant challenges ahead.”

Chief Executive of Nottingham Healthcare NHS Trust, Professor Mike Cooke, said: “Clair has been Chair of our Trust since January 2007 and during that time she has proved an outstanding and dedicated leader with an inspirational commitment to our service users, carers and staff. She has progressively shaped the Board and has had a significant impact upon the culture of the Trust in shifting its focus to a patient centred approach. This aligns well with our anti stigma and recovery work, on which she has had a tremendous personal impact. She has also led us to the establishment of a strong Members’ Council, which met for the first time this week. We will miss her very much but wish her every success in her new role.”

With a strong background in academia and the senior civil service, Professor Chilvers’ previous university appointments over 20 years include Professor of Epidemiology at University of Nottingham Medical School and Dean of the University’s Graduate School. She trained originally as a Medical Statistician and spent most of her research career as a cancer epidemiologist at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London.

In seven years at the Department of Health, until 2006, Professor Chilvers’ appointments included Director of Research and Development for Trent Region, Director of the Mental Health Research and Development Portfolio and Research Director, Care Services Improvement Partnership.

She was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and is currently a Trustee of the LloydsTSB Foundation. In 2008 she, with colleagues founded the charity Mental Health Research UK. She is a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

Dame Janet Trotter, current Chair of the Trust and recently appointed Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire will remain in post until Professor Chilvers takes up her position on January 1st 2011.