Chair to lead second acute trust

An experienced former trust chief executive has taken on an additional role as chair, nearly 80 miles from his current trust.

David Highton, who has chaired Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust since 2017, started as chair of Buckinghamshire Hospitals Foundation Trust earlier this month.

Mr Highton is the former chief executive of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust – now the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust – and of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals Trust, as well as previously working as an adviser to the government of Qatar. His role at Maidstone is unaffected by taking on the extra chair’s job.

Mr Highton said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust. To meet the changing needs of the population, especially those living in deprived areas, will require significant transformation of how we and our partners provide care.”

The former chair of Buckinghamshire Hospitals, Hattie Llewelyn-Davies, has moved to chair the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Essex after eight years at Buckinghamshire.

Chief executive Neil Macdonald said the trust had been on a “remarkable journey” under her leadership, moving out of special measures to achieve a Care Quality Commission rating of “good” in 2019.

He added: “Both the trust and me personally are extraordinarily grateful for Hattie’s wisdom, compassion, leadership and most importantly, her staunch advocacy for our residents.”