Feature / People

ALEX JOHNSONE, NHS Sutton and Merton’s director of finance and strategy, has joined NHS London as strategic investment adviser. As a result, MIKE SEXTON, the primary care trust’s acting director of acute commissioning, has become acting director of finance and performance.

NHS Bath and North East Somerset’s director of finance, MARY CONNOR, has retired from her post. Deputy director of finance at NHS Wiltshire TRACEY STRACHAN has taken over as acting director of resources on a 12-month secondment.

Coventry Teaching Primary Care Trust director of finance MIKE BAILEY retired at the end of March. The PCT has appointed CLARE HOLLINGWORTH interim director of finance for 12 months. She was previously the PCT’s deputy director of finance.

NHS North Yorkshire and York director of finance NICK STEELE has emigrated to Australia to become chief finance officer for clinical and statewide services in Brisbane. ADRIAN SNARR, the PCT’s associate director of finance and contracting for community and mental health services, has been made interim director.

RICHARD CLACK has been appointed interim director of finance at South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, succeeding PAUL DODD.

NHS Doncaster has named CHRIS STAINFORTH executive director of finance and commissioning and deputy chief executive. Mr Stainforth, who was previously the primary care trust’s executive director of commissioning and strategic development, succeeds SHEENAGH POWELL, who has moved to Airedale NHS Trust as director of finance. JON COOKE, the PCT’s deputy director of finance, who was acting director of finance, has been appointed associate director of finance to support Mr Stainforth and to attend trust board meetings. The appointments are initially for a nine-month period.

IAN WOODALL, Solihull Care Trust’s deputy director of resources, has been appointed interim director of resources. He succeeds TIM TEBBS.

NHS Hampshire has named STEVE BOLAM director of finance, performance and information. He was formerly associate finance director at South Central Strategic Health Authority.

WENDY HULL has joined the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust as interim director of finance. She has held finance director posts at a number of NHS organisations. She succeeds CATHY LYONS.

NHS Hounslow has appointed ANDREAS LAMBRIANOU interim chair until December. He started his career as a chartered accountant with KPMG before holding several senior NHS posts. He takes over from SARAH CUTHBURT, who has been the interim chair since January 2009.

SIMKINS TAKES CORNWALL CHALLENGE

Not only is Karl Simkins about to move back to the provider side, but the NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland director of finance is also swapping land-locked East Midlands for Cornwall.

Mr Simkins has become director of finance at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. He says: ‘It is an attractive opportunity and the timing was right for me and my family.’

The trust is no longer considered financially challenged, but finance remains top of its agenda. According to its strategic plan for 2009/10 to 2013/14, it will repay its historic debt by 2012/13, which currently stands at £42m. The trust has pledged to repay the debt by raising its annual surpluses – which it says will rise to £12.6m by 2012/13 – and delivering at least 4% efficiency improvements each financial year over the five-year period. Assuming no real terms growth in income over the period, the trust requires an efficiency improvement of £64m.

The strategic plan pledges the trust will gain foundation status by the end of 2013/14. Mr Simkins admits this will be challenging, particularly in today’s economic climate, but this, and the trust’s location, made the job hard to resist.

‘It’s a beautiful part of the country and the chance to play a part in the improvement in the trust’s fortunes was appealing,’ he says. ‘I’m also interested to find out what it’s like to live in a health economy where there’s a 100% rise in population for two or three months of the year.’

The move also marks a return to the provider side after nearly four years in commissioning.

He believes world class commissioning (WCC) has been a positive development in the past few years, helping PCTs develop and improve their processes. He hopes this will be evident in the WCC scores this summer.

‘There has been a lot of work with the strategic health authority and partner organisations to improve the health service in Leicestershire. However, this stands us in good stead and has been received positively in the East Midlands.’ He adds: ‘Now I’ve seen the whole system I have a more rounded view of the NHS. I think I can bring more to the job having seen both sides.’