Daily Insight: ‘An honour and a privilege’

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust chief executive Dame Jackie Daniel has announced she is stepping down. 

Dame Jackie, who has been Newcastle’s CEO since 2018, said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to be a part of this team over the last five years as we rose to the challenges of the pandemic and recovery, and tackled situations which none of us could have anticipated.

”However, I feel that it is the right time for me to step aside so that a new leader can become established prior to the review of the trust’s long-term strategy in 2024.”

Dame Jackie has spent almost 20 years in NHS management, including as CEO of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay FT, which she led out of special measures. She was recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to healthcare in 2017.

Dame Jackie’s departure means Newcastle joins a string of major trusts where the leadership has changed in the last year, or a new CEO is due to start shortly – the list includes the Royal Free London; Manchester University; Barts Health; Leeds Teaching Hospitals; University Hospitals Birmingham; Nottingham University Hospitals; Oxford University Hospitals; and Mid and South Essex FT.

Cornwall turns to new committees

Health chiefs in Cornwall are set to roll out the latest novelty in the ever-changing evolution of integrated care system governance.

In a bid to deal with the current challenges more efficiently, the idea is to create two joint committees that will span both NHS providers and the NHS commissioner in the county.

Crucially, the two committees will subsume some of the powers held by Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and Cornwall Partnership FT.

It’s not yet known exactly what these powers will be and how big a share of the organisations’ authority they represent, as this is being thrashed out by the ICS currently.

The committees will focus on quality and finance and performance, two areas where the ICS has struggled significantly in recent years.

ICB chair John Govett said the “first-of-its-kind” committees in England will help the ICS align its risks and reduce bureaucracy – with more benefits likely to be unveiled when the committees formally launch this autumn.

All that remains is for the three organisations’ boards to sign off on the proposal. Other ICSs should watch with interest once the model is up and running.