Chair appointed across two hospital trusts

A joint chair has been appointed across two acute trusts in London.

Mike Bell will take over the chair role at Lewisham and Greenwich Trust at the end of this month. He currently chairs Croydon Health Services Trust.

Lewisham and Croydon are adjoining south London boroughs but sit in different integrated care systems.

The two trusts have a combined turnover of nearly £1bn.

Mr Bell is an experienced NHS chair who recently co-chaired Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust at the same time as his Croydon role.

He was previously deputy chair of the NHS London strategic health authority and leads the NHS London Chairs Group.

All but one of the non-specialist hospital trusts in London now have a shared chair arrangement in place.

In a statement he said: “I’m honoured to have the chance to continue improvements in health and care on both sides of south London.

“The NHS is going through radical changes, after what has been a tempestuous few years for everyone since the start of the covid-19 pandemic. The response from NHS workers, on and off the frontline, has been both humbling and phenomenal throughout this period. I could not be prouder to be the chair of two such fantastic trusts that have been at the very forefront of our covid response, but also our continued recovery.”

He paid tribute to outgoing chair Val Davison, saying: “It is clear that she has been one of the central figures in the positive journey that Lewisham and Greenwich have been on over the last few years.”