New chief for ‘outstanding’ trust
The deputy chief executive of an acute trust has been appointed to run an ‘outstanding’ community trust.
Mairead McCormick, the chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of Kingston Hospital Foundation Trust, will take over at Kent Community Health FT later this year. KCHFT’s former chief executive, Paul Bentley, left to take up the same role at the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System.
KCHFT chair John Goulston said: “Mairead was the outstanding candidate after an extensive and open recruitment process. Mairead comes to us with an excellent track record of achievement from an outstanding trust.”
Ms McCormick said: “I live in Kent and feel very connected to the people here, so it will be a great privilege for me to lead the organisation in making lives better for the local people. I look forward to working with the KCHFT team, local communities and partners, and to our future together.”
She qualified as a nurse in her native Northern Ireland and later specialised in emergency care, before working in Australia and New Zealand. After her return to England, she continued to work in emergency nursing and was then appointed head of nursing at Kingston and then divisional manager for women’s and child health.
Ms McCormick has also worked with the national emergency care intensive support team and as deputy chief operating officer at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust, where she was involved in supporting the trust out of special measures.
Acting chief executive Gordon Flack will continue to run the trust until she takes up her new post.