Trust names third CEO in four months

Deborah Needham has been appointed interim chief executive officer of the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group, which covers Northampton General Hospital Trust and Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust, replacing interim Andy Callow who left this month.

This comes after substantive CEO Simon Weldon went on extended leave from the role in October because of personal reasons. 

When HSJ asked if Mr Weldon planned to return, the trust did not respond.

Mr Callow took over the CEO post as interim in early October, but in November it was announced that he would leave the organisation to become chief digital and information officer at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust from January.

The two trusts share a chair – Alan Burns – but have separate hospital-level directors: Ms Needham leads Kettering General and Heidi Smoult leads Northampton General.

Ms Needham will remain in her current role as CEO of Kettering General, and cover the interim group CEO role in Mr Weldon’s absence.

She joined Kettering General as CEO in March 2021 and was previously CEO at Northampton General Hospital from August 2020.

Mr Weldon has been CEO of both trusts since July 2020 and was chief executive of Kettering Hospital from 2018. Before this he was director of operations and delivery at NHS England.