Trust chief stands down after 19 years to lead success regime

Ms Pedder, who has led the trust for almost two decades, will lead the northern, eastern and western Devon success regime while also acting as lead for the overall Devon “sustainability and transformation plan” footprint.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the NHS organisations in the NEW Devon success regime said Ms Pedder would “lead the delivery of changes” agreed through the regime “on a collaborative basis”.

The statement said her appointment had been “unanimously endorsed” by the local health economy.

NEW Devon is one of three areas in a success regime – a national programme led by NHS England and NHS Improvement aimed at getting health economies with longstanding clinical and financial problems on to a sustainable footing.

A “case for change” published earlier this year identified a £442m funding gap in NEW Devon by 2020-21 unless radical action is taken, including the centralisation of some specialist and acute services. A paper is due later this month setting out options for change in the area.

Ms Pedder’s appointment has been endorsed by NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Andrew Ridley, NHS England’s director for the South, said the system faced “significant” challenges to reach sustainability.

“We have been impressed by the leadership Angela Pedder has shown, and are pleased to endorse the decision to appoint her to the lead chief executive role,” he added.

Anne Eden, NHS Improvement’s acting managing director for the South, said Ms Pedder’s appointment was “a strong example of how NHS organisations and their social care partners can collaborate and improve”.

Ms Pedder has been chief executive of Royal Devon and Exeter FT for 19 years and last month was announced as chair of the Devon STP footprint.

She will remain in post at the trust until “early summer” and will divide her time between the organisation and the success regime in the interim. A recruitment process for her replacement will begin shortly.

Dame Ruth Carnall will continue as the independent chair of the success regime, chairing the “collaborative board” which Ms Pedder will be accountable to.

Royal Devon chair James Brent said: “Angela has been discussing her plans to stand down from her role at the [trust] with the board for some time and we have been making the necessary plans to recruit a replacement.

“Angela has served the [trust], its staff and patients well over the last 19 years and she will be missed.”

Ms Pedder said she was “immensely proud” to have worked with Royal Devon’s staff, who she thanked for their “hard work and dedication to excellent patient care”.

She added: “Standards of patient safety and quality in Devon are good yet demand continues to grow and the patients we see are living longer with more complex conditions.

“In order for us to maintain and enhance the quality of care and live within our means we will need to develop new ways of working that build on the local health and social care partnerships already in place.

“This will be challenging but I am looking forward to the great opportunity it brings to make health and social care services in Devon sustainable and even better for our population.”