NHS Improvement has confirmed the appointment of Steve Phoenix as Chair of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT).
Steve Phoenix has held a number of non-executive roles at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust since 2017. Prior to this, he was a Special Advisor to the Minister of Public Health in Qatar. During his time in Qatar he was also Group Chief Executive of the General Hospitals and Organisational Development at Hamad Medical Corporation and executive lead of three of the Group’s acute hospitals.
Steve Phoenix – Chair
Mr Phoenix brings extensive NHS Board level experience to the role of Chair having held several senior leadership roles in the NHS across the South East with experience spanning regional, commissioning and community provider roles.
He was Chair and NED of Health in Europe Ltd and a NED at Match Health Care Ltd. Mr Phoenix also held an academic appointment at the London School of Economics.
Anne Eden, Executive Regional Director South East, NHS Improvement and NHS England said: “East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust has made some real improvements in the quality of care provided to local patients. The task ahead under Steve’s leadership is to tackle the challenging financial position. NHS Improvement and NHS England will continue to support a joined up approach to this across the NHS locally in East Sussex. I want to see the quality improvements already achieved are maintained for patients while getting the best value from every pound spent on care.”
Steve Phoenix said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Chair of the Trust. As a local resident I’ve watched closely the journey of improvement the organisation has been on in the last few years. I am looking forward to supporting ESHT to continue this rapid improvement and providing the best possible care to patients. I will work with partner organisations to help strengthen the local healthcare system, focussing on proving high quality services that are both clinically and financially sustainable.”
Dr Adrian Bull, ESHT Chief Executive said: “I welcome the appointment of Steve Phoenix as our new Chair, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role. I have had the pleasure of working with Steve in the past and look forward to working with him again as we move towards our aim of being outstanding by 2020 and achieving financial sustainability while providing high quality services to patients across all our services.”
Non-executive appointments to NHS Trusts made by NHS Improvement and are subject to the Governance Code for Public Appointments. NHS Improvement ensure that all appointments to NHS trust boards throughout England are made in a way that is open, transparent and fair to candidates. NHS Improvement routinely publishes information about all the appointment it makes on its website.
Mr Phoenix has been appointed from 1st February 2019 until 31st January 2023 and will receive remuneration of £40,000 per annum. He has not declared any political activity in the last five years.