Media Release

PR 161
20 October 2011
For Immediate Release

NHS Peterborough Chairman to step down as Primary Care Trust Board is clustered with NHS Cambridgeshire and new Chair to be appointed.

Derek Harris, Chairman of NHS Peterborough since July 2010 has announced his intention to stand down as Chairman from 30 November 2011.

His announcement comes as Primary Care Trust boards across the country cluster together to create efficiencies and delegate more authority to emerging clinical commissioning groups.

Mr Harris has made clear his opposition to the clustering of the Boards and he is standing down because of this. 

Mr Harris, Chairman, said:

“It is with great sadness that I am resigning as Chairman of NHS Peterborough and I will therefore be unable to help oversee the transition to clinically led commissioning. The decision process to move rapidly to a clustered board has not, I believe, engaged properly with the Non-Executive Directors who are appointed to represent the views of local people. I have made my dissatisfaction known to the Strategic Health Authority and the Appointments Commission.

“I have greatly enjoyed my period as Chairman of NHS Peterborough and working closely with the City Council and the Greater Peterborough Partnership to tackle some of the health priorities facing the people of this city. I am particularly proud to have been instrumental in the Living Healthy, Live Green initiative as a key component of the city’s plans to tackle lifestyle related health and environmental issues. I hope that I have made a small difference and that some of the initiatives I have been involved with will bear fruit for local people.

“However, leadership is important in a time of change, and I am delighted that Maureen Donnelly, Chair of NHS Cambridgeshire, will be taking up the mantle as Chairman of the clustered Board. I know Maureen well and I am sure she will work hard to represent the interests of all the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. I will be spending the next month working with Maureen and introducing her to key stakeholders and staff so that she will have a good understanding of the issues facing Peterborough when she starts her work as Chairman in December. I wish her well in this important role.”

Maureen Donnelly, who has been Chair of NHS Cambridgeshire since it was formed in 2006, begins as Chair of the new cluster Board, said

“I am very pleased to be taking on the role of the Chairman of the cluster Board for NHS Cambridgeshire and NHS Peterborough. This is a challenging time for the NHS and my job is to make sure that quality and safety remain at the top of our agenda. 

“I look forward to working with the staff of NHS Peterborough, clinicians and local people as we make the transition to clinically led commissioning. I am fortunate to be taking over from Derek Harris who has made a great contribution to the work of the Primary Care Trust and developed excellent partnership arrangements. I hope to be able to build on Derek’s work in Peterborough as well as continuing the good progress the NHS has made in Cambridgeshire over recent years.”

Notes for editors
Maureen Donnelly
Maureen is a  Maths Graduate and has spent her career in the telecoms sector. She was head of marketing for BT before leaving to become Commercial Director of Colt Telecom in the City of London. Since then she has set up two telecoms companies (in Germany and in the UK) and now works as an advisor on commercial and acquisition strategy. Maureen, who lives in Cambridge, is Chair of Digital Region, a broadband telecoms company in South Yorkshire  and Chair of the Corporation of Hills Road Sixth Form College. She has been Chair of NHS Cambridgeshire since 2006.
Derek Harris
Derek has a Honours degree in Mechanical Sciences (Engineering) - now upgraded to an MA from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Derek moved to the Peterborough area in 1979 and joined Sodastream as Manufacturing Director, ending up as Managing Director following acquisition by Cadbury Schweppes six years later.
Since 1985 Derek has been based near Peterborough working with young entrepreneurs running SMEs and start-up companies. Over this period he worked with, and invested in, many companies helping them to raise funds and cope with the challenges of growth. Notable among them are Linx Printing Technologies Ltd based in St Ives, a leading continuous ink jet printing company supplying the global packaging industry, and Coffee Nation Ltd, now the third largest bean-to-cup branded coffee offering in the UK (after Starbucks and Costa). Derek was founder Chairman of both these companies. 
Derek lives near Peterborough, is married for the second time, he and his wife have five children. His hobbies include sailing, DIY and gardening.
NHS Cluster Boards

The 2011/12 NHS Operating Framework concluded that it would not be possible to retain effective management capacity in all Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) until their abolition (currently planned for April 2013). In response, PCTs have been brought together in ‘clusters’. The Cambridgshire and Peterborough Cluster will be made up of NHS Cambridgeshire and NHS Peterborough. 

Although each PCT is still a separate statutory organisation, working as one Board, the Cluster has a single executive team. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Cluster’s Chief Executive, Sushil Jathanna is the Accountable Officer for each of the PCTs in the cluster and leads the Cluster executive team. 

Issued By: 
Laura Marshall, Communications Specialist
Tel: 01733 758404
Email: laura.marshall@peterboroughpct.nhs.uk