Closing Date: 9am Monday 28th October 2024
About the Organisation
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust is by any measure a large and complex organisation, formed on 1 July 2018 through the successful merger of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust and The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust. They deliver care from two main acute hospital sites in Colchester and Ipswich, six community hospitals and in patients’ own homes. They provide a range of specialised services and are developing centres of excellence such as robotic surgery. Community health services operate in Aldeburgh, Clacton, Halstead, Harwich and Felixstowe community hospitals, as well as Bluebird Lodge near Ipswich. They have an annual income of £1.1b and over 12,000 dedicated staff.
Their ambition is to “provide the best care and experience and to increase equality in health outcomes”. Thanks to all their colleagues who make up the ESNEFT family they have delivered most of the goals of their initial five year strategy and the Board have now agreed a clinical strategy covering the period to 2029.
ESNEFT is an ambitious Trust and they actively use their philosophy of “Time Matters” to provide the overarching framework for their quality improvement work. Digital transformation is key to their strategy, improving patient safety and quality and increasing productivity. They are currently working to introduce Epic, their new Electronic Patient Record, in October 2025 through a clinically led transformation programme. They have consistently outperformed national and regional benchmarks for access to services and they have demonstrated their strength as an integrated Trust and a system partner, continuing to innovate in the delivery of high quality, sustainable and increasingly integrated care.
They see themselves as a community asset and are proud to be an anchor institution, rooted in and connected to the communities they serve. Their communities include some experiencing the greatest health inequalities in the country. Using their size and scale they can positively contribute in many ways beyond providing health care, through their relationships with their local partners. In this vein they work as a key partner in the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System. Through provider collaboration and a range of other initiative they continue to be committed to playing a role in the system-wide programme to improve their population’s health as a key area of focus in their transformation.
The Opportunity
This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead their Board of Directors and Council of Governors, to build on their current success and face the multiple challenges before us. They need an exceptional individual who is used to leading at Board level in large and complex organisations and who has, or is willing to develop, a deep understanding of the NHS and the wider health and social care sector.
You will need a strong track record of building relationships with a range of stakeholders across both organisations and communities and have a reputation for your ambassadorial and diplomatic approach. It is a significant commitment requiring a range of attributes including resilience and agility in the face of public scrutiny.
Their future must be shaped around their people and supported by inclusive leadership and robust governance. It is imperative that they seek out those leaders who embody their values and commit wholeheartedly to supporting their staff to achieve the priorities they have agreed with their patients to deliver the very best care to them, their families and their communities. They want someone who will be deeply committed to improving patient outcomes, who is empathetic and kind, and who will listen to and hear their staff and communities. Their Trust values are Optimistic, Appreciative and Kind, they are the touchstone of how they treat each other and all those they serve. Their communities, patients and staff deserve the best and that includes appointing the best leaders they can find.
They are keen to hear from values-driven leaders who are committed to advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. You should bring a passion to challenge, guide and champion their work, significant Board level leadership experience, a strong understanding of good governance, and positive energy to lead their Board of Directors and Council of Governors to help us to continue their journey of improvement and drive to reduce health inequalities for their population.
If you believe you may be the exceptional individual they seek, then they encourage you to contact their retained consultants at GatenbySanderson in the first instance for a confidential discussion:
Emily Perry, Principal Researcher
E: emily.perry@gatenbysanderson.com
T: 020 74263978 / 07538 979416
Julia St Clare, Senior Consultant and Research Lead
E: julia.stclare@gatenbysanderson.com
T: +44 (0) 7807 631 564
Other Information
Location: Colchester
Remuneration: £60,000 for, on average, 3 days a week
Closing Date: 9am Monday 28th October 2024
For more information, please visit their recruitment microsite https://join-esneft.co.uk/