Watford Hospital chief to leave her post

The Chief Executive of Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals is leaving West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT) later this month. Samantha Jones has been appointed to lead a major new NHS programme of work and Jacqueline (Jac) Kelly has been appointed to replace Samantha on an interim basis and will start on January 12. Samantha’s new role will be as Director of New Models of Care for NHS England and she will lead on the implementation of changes to health and care services as outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View. Mahdi Hasan, Trust Chair, said: “I would like to congratulate Samantha on her new position.  The NHS Five Year Forward View will undoubtedly have far-reaching benefits for the future of the NHS in England, including our own hospitals. “Samantha has overseen many significant changes across our hospitals, in particular in improving the quality and safety of the care we provide to our patients.  She always puts patients first and is popular with our staff, patients and local people.  Her drive for openness and transparency are an example to us all. “I am pleased to have appointed someone with as much experience as Jac to act as Chief Executive on an interim basis.  We will start the process of recruiting a substantive Chief Executive shortly.” Samantha said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to my new role.  I have enjoyed my time at the Trust and will of course miss the team at Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans hospitals.  However, I know they will be in good hands with Jac and the rest of her executive and non-executive colleagues here at the Trust. “I have already met with Jac and will work closely with her to ensure she receives a full handover.” Jac is the former Chief Executive of Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust and has had a long and distinguished career in the NHS and she was awarded an MBE for services to healthcare in the Queen’s New Year Honours last week. She said: “I am delighted to be joining Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans hospitals and I look forward to working with the Board, as well as our nurses, doctors and other staff, to further improve the care we provide. “Working with our patients and staff, we launched six new values recently and each of them resonates very clearly with me, in particular the importance of being transparent and open about what we do and working in partnership with our staff, local people and other NHS organisations. “Our hospitals face a significant financial challenge and the team are working hard to ensure we deliver best value for the taxpayer.  However, I believe it is possible to deliver safe, good quality patient care and cost effectiveness, not one or the other.”