New £2bn hospital group appoints chair

Two trusts which are forming a hospital group have appointed a new chair.

Ingrid Barker will take the reins at Bristol’s two acute trusts (North Bristol and University Hospitals of Bristol and Weston) as part of steps to provide closer working between the two organisations. 

Ms Barker is currently chair of Gloucestershire Health and Care Foundation Trust. She has held that role since 2019.

She is a qualified social worker and also a governor at Gloucestershire University.

Her appointment comes amid closer working between the two trusts in Bristol, which announced their group plans in December. This was followed by a joint clinical strategy which was published in March.

The group, which plans to appoint a CEO later in spring, would have a turnover of around £2bn.

Ms Barker said: “The joint clinical strategy that NBT and UHBW have developed together has captured my imagination and I hope that my previous experience of leading clinically led service change and strategic transformation will help the fantastic teams in both trusts on this journey to deliver for the communities they serve.”

She will start in the post in June.