New chief for trust that is ‘so far ahead on integration’
A London trust whose chief executive is headed to a provider in the South West has appointed a successor.
Helen Brown, who is currently the deputy chief executive of West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust, will take up her new role at Whittington Health Trust in June.
It comes after the trust announced Siobhan Harrington was leaving to become the new chief executive of University Hospitals Dorset Foundation Trust in May.
Ms Brown joined West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust as director of strategy and transformation in September 2014, and once served as its acting CEO. Her extensive 30-year career in the NHS has seen her serve in roles across its various sectors, including acute, community and mental health.
She previously lived in Haringey and was at Whittington Health Trust for a brief time. The trust has confirmed to HSJ that she will be its accountable officer.
On her appointment, Ms Brown said: “I am delighted to be coming back to Whittington Health. Having lived and worked in the area previously, I have always felt a connection to this trust.
“As someone who has championed integration in other organisations, I am really excited about the opportunity to work somewhere that is so far ahead and places such importance on integration and working with partners for the benefit of patients.
“I look forward to meeting more of the people who make Whittington Health such a great organisation.”
Baroness Julia Neuberger, who chairs both Whittington Health Trust and University College London FT, described Ms Brown’s appointment as “great news”.
She said: “Helen’s passion for our organisation, vision, local area and model of integrated care made her the ideal candidate.
“We are very fortunate that in Helen, we will have a new CEO who knows and understands the local area, believes wholeheartedly in our vision of ‘helping people live longer, healthier lives’ and is well placed to lead an organisation which has integration for the benefit of patients at its heart.”