Pioneering chair stands down after a decade

Russell Hardy will step away from his role in March, having played a key role in establishing and growing the “foundation group”, consisting of South Warwickshire University, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals, Wye Valley and George Eliot Hospital.

Mr Hardy began as chair of what is now SWFT in 2015, before taking on the additional responsibilities of chair at WVT in 2016, GEH in 2019 and, most recently, WAHT in 2023.

He has led the growth of the group alongside CEO Glen Burley, who is currently on secondment to NHS England as national director of financial reset and accountability.

It is not one of the largest hospital providers in terms of turnover or staff, but has led the way in applying shared leadership and a “group model” to a growing number of hospital trusts that were struggling with care quality and performance problems.

The four trusts will now move to two separate chairs.

Sue Whelan, an SWFT non-executive director since 2016, has been appointed to replace Mr Hardy as joint chair of South Warwickshire and George Eliot.

She has previously been a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and a commissioner of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and began her career in banking. In July 2024, she was due to replace Jagtar Singh as chair at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust but withdrew in September before starting the role, citing “personal reasons”.

Meanwhile, WAHT and WVT are finalising a timeline to recruit a joint chair.

Since April, when Mr Burley took up the interim role at NHSE under its incoming CEO Sir Jim Mackey, there have been two chief executives sharing accountable officer duties across the four trusts.

Adam Carson, who was previously managing director of South Warwickshire, is acting CEO of SWFT and GEH, which are both in Warwickshire. He said Ms Whelan’s “experience and insight will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen collaboration between our trusts and respond to the challenges facing the NHS, while remaining firmly focused on delivering the highest quality care for our patients and communities”.

Stephen Collman, who was previously managing director of Worcestershire Acute, is currently acting CEO of that trust and of Wye Valley Trust, in Herefordshire.

Mr Burley has made clear he remains “the overarching Foundation Group chief executive” during his secondment, and is “fully committed to all trusts within it”.