The new Chair of the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has pledged to continue the good work of her predecessor – with the aim of making quality of care ‘outstanding.’
Anna Davidson was appointed as Chair following a recruitment process held earlier this month and succeeds David Wright, who stands down on 30 April after almost five years in the role.
David has been instrumental in overseeing a programme of continuous improvement at the hospital in Gorleston, which resulted in the hospital achieving a rating of ‘Good’ from the independent regulator of health and social care services in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Now, Anna aims to build on these strong foundations while ensuring the Trust plays a lead role in the transformation of local healthcare services, working closely with local NHS and social care partners.
“I am very much looking forward to the challenge,” she said. “David will be a tough act to follow but I am determined to carry on his good work.”
“The Trust has been on a journey of improvement over the last few years. The next part of the journey is to maintain and improve the quality of care for our patients. We cannot sit back and think ‘that’s good enough.’ We should aspire to reach the next level – and that is to be recognised as outstanding for the quality of care we provide.”
Anna, who lives near Halesworth, has been a Non Executive Director of the Trust since February last year and was appointed Deputy Chair in November.
Previously, she was a Non Executive Director of East Coast Community Healthcare and Chair of its Audit Committee after a career which included spells as a classical musician, a teacher and then working in the education service in both Suffolk and Norfolk.
Her last substantive full time role was within the Norse Group, where she was Group Development Director in NPS (the property asset management arm), with responsibilities including strategic management of ICT, business planning and developing new joint venture partnerships.
Partnership working will be crucial going forward, said Anna. “I intend to ensure that the James Paget continues to play a key role as we further develop our partnerships, with the aim of transforming the local healthcare system so that it can provide patients with the right treatment, in the right place at the right time.”
Anna will take over as Chair on May 1.
It is a statutory duty for the Council of Governors of the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to appoint Non Executive Directors, including the Chair. The Council of Governors, following their involvement in the recruitment process, approved the appointment of the new Chair on 7 April 2017.