Major hospital trust to share chair with neighbour

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust will be headed by Northumbria FT’s current chair Sir Paul Ennals on a temporary basis, the trusts have confirmed.

Sir Paul will be confirmed as the joint chair of the two trusts at Newcastle FT’s annual general meeting on 17 July. His appointment will be as an interim until Newcastle FT and Northumbria FT recruit a permanent joint chair, expected to happen late this year.

The move comes after Sir Jim Mackey moved from Northumbria FT to take over as CEO at Newcastle FT at the start of the year. Sir Jim has continually advocated closer working between the two trusts, which had a combative relationship in the past.

Several “hospital groups” across England have appointed joint chairs in recent months – involving trusts in Leicester, Shropshire, and Bristol. The two acute trusts in the Tees area have also shared a chair for several years and have recently appointed a joint CEO.

Analysis by HSJ in January found one in three trusts were sharing either a CEO or chair with another provider.

Newcastle FT’s current interim chair, Kath McCourt, is reaching the end of her term of office and wouldn’t be eligible to stand again due to the time she has already served, the trust said.

Newcastle FT also told HSJ that the move to a joint chair “is very much in line” with the aims of the “Great North Care Alliance”, which was formed earlier this year to promote closer working between the acute providers in Newcastle, Northumbria, Gateshead, and North Cumbria.

Northumbria FT’s statement said the move to a joint chair “is reflective of the ambition of local health providers to work more closely as an alliance, which we believe has huge potential to deliver significant benefits to our patients and the staff within our own organisations and in the wider North East and North Cumbria.”

It added: “This will not change the organisational independence of either trust, but we hope by helping support our neighbours in Newcastle, we can ensure patients right across the region can get the best possible care.”

The trust also said the formal recruitment process for the permanent joint chair of Newcastle FT and Northumbria FT is expected to take place in autumn or winter of this year.

In addition, Northumbria FT non-executive director Bernie McCardle will chair Newcastle FT’s people committee until the trust can make a permanent appointment. Mr McCardle will continue in his current role at Northumbria FT during this time.