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Our Trust Board

Our Trust Board is responsible for everything that we do. Our board members:

  • set the strategic direction, define objectives and agree plans for the Trust
  • monitor performance against objectives and plans
  • ensures financial stewardship through financial control and planning
  • ensures high-quality, patient-focused services through clinical governance
  • appoints, appraises and remunerates executives through corporate governance
  • ensures effective dialogue with our community and partners.

Read our Annual Report and our annual quality account to find out how we’re doing.

How to join our Trust Board meetings

Our Trust Board meets in public each month (apart from August and December) and holds an annual general meeting every September.

Our next public board meeting
Wednesday 28 February 2024, 9.30am

Watch the meeting via our live stream

To submit questions please email us.

Or you can message before/during the meeting via text/WhatsApp

  • Text/WhatsApp: 07920 590292

Board papers

Visit our publications library to find meeting agendas, CEO papers, recent and archived board papers.

Our board of directors

We are committed to developing a Board that reflects the diversity of all of the people that work at BHT and are proud that we have achieved this in respect of ethnicity.  The executive team and Board have individual and team development programmes in place, underpinning a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

 

David HightonDavid Highton became Trust Chair in January 2022. Originally a Chartered Accountant, David joined the NHS as a Finance Director in 1990.

David was an NHS Chief Executive from 1991 to 2003, including the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Trust and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

He has also worked in the independent health sector, including being director of his own consulting company and heading up Business Development for Medihome Ltd, a successful acute home healthcare provider. David has also been Chair of Sussex Health Care Audiology Ltd, a business delivering age-related hearing assessments in the community in Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire.

David also has a wealth of international experience He was previously Ministerial Advisor on Private Sector Involvement and Public Private Partnership to the Minister of Public Health in Qatar and a Director of Clearview Healthcare, a Delhi-based company providing operator managed equipment services to the growing private hospital market in India. Since 2011 he has been Executive Director of Corporate Development at Hamad Medical Corporation, the main public hospital provider in Qatar. He has also been Chair of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Board since 2017.

Neil Macdonald June 2023

Neil has been Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust since January 2019, after holding the interim position a year. Prior to this he was part of the Trust Board for 3 years as Chief Operating Officer.

Neil chairs the Buckinghamshire Executive Partnership and is vice-chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board in Buckinghamshire. Neil is also a Trustee of Scannappeal.

Neil started his NHS career in Yorkshire as a National General Management Trainee in 2003, before joining the Trust in 2005. After leaving for a role at the Healthcare Commission and general management positions at Imperial and Guys and St. Thomas’ Trusts, he returned to the organisation in July 2013 as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Surgery and Critical Care Division.

Graduating from St. Anne’s College, Oxford with a modern history degree in 2000, Neil subsequently completed an MSc in Healthcare Management from the University of Birmingham.

Andrew joined BHT in 2004 as a Consultant Surgeon following training in the Oxford Region with a period as a Clinical Lecturer in Surgery with the University of Oxford.

Whilst maintaining a clinical practice, he has held a number of leadership roles in the Trust more recently as Divisional Chair for Surgery & Critical Care for 10 years and as Deputy MD and Cancer Lead since 2017.  He has a strong interest in improving clinical pathways focusing on better outcomes for patients.

Karen has extensive experience working in a number of large complex organisations including the Royal Free, St George’s, Barts Healthcare, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Karen has a DiPN, BSc Hons in Nursing and a MSC in Leadership from Kings College University. Before joining the Trust in March 2020 Karen worked at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where she worked with NHS England to develop the Trust’s improving fairness plan.

She is a trustee of the Mary Seacole Trust and is a member of the National Workforce Race Equality Standards Advisory Board.

She was highly commended in the Diversity and Inclusion Champion category at the 2019 Nursing Times Workforce Award. Karen also works with Prostate Cancer UK in a volunteering capacity.

Bridget was appointed Chief People Officer in September 2017. During her time at  Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust she has undertaken a number of roles within the HR team, including the education portfolio, workforce information and planning.

Bridget brings a wealth of experience to the role. Having studied Chemistry at Durham University, and starting her career as a science teacher in Botswana and then London, she went on to work for several years with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK and overseas before specialising in HR. During her time as part of the HR senior leadership team, Bridget has been instrumental in supporting the organisation in its cultural transformation and staff engagement journey.

Jon Evans

Jon joined Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust as Chief Finance Officer in July 2023.

Previously, Jon was Group Chief Finance Officer at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals, as part of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, having held various senior finance roles at Oxford University Hospitals, Imperial College Healthcare and UCLH before this. Jon started his career in the NHS on the national graduate training scheme.

Jon is a qualified chartered management accountant and has an MBA from the Alliance Manchester Business School. He is an active member of the HFMA and has a keen interest in developing teams and driving the delivery of benefits for patients from service changes.

Raghuv joined the Trust as Chief Operating Officer in March 2022. Prior to this Raghuv worked at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Director of Strategic Partnerships and previously led on planned care operations, outpatient transformation and commercial development at the Trust. During the pandemic Raghuv was seconded to help set up and lead NHS Test and Trace as Chief of Staff and a member of the Executive Committee of the organisation.

Raghuv started his career in the Civil Service working in the Department of Health across a range of policy, finance and performance areas. Raghuv spent three years directly supporting Ministers including as Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Health. Raghuv’s first role in the NHS was in NHS Improvement where he helped set up the national Urgent and Emergency Care Programme.

Raghuv is married with two young children and lives in Beaconsfield.

Duncan Dewhurst headshotDuncan joined the Trust in July 2022 moving from a role as Director of Transformation at Central London Community Healthcare Trust. Duncan brings a wealth of experience from across the public sector having previously been CIO and Head of Transformation at Lewisham Council and before that a Senior Civil Servant working on strategy and policy issues in Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.

Charmaine HopeCharmaine joined the Trust in March 2024 from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where, most recently she had been Director of Facilities, Estates and Capital Management, having joined OUH in 2018. Amongst many highlights her previous role, Charmaine led on delivering an award-winning 48-bed critical care new building.

John joined the NHS in 2007 following a commercial career in life sciences.  He started in virology research and then spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, first with AstraZeneca, then with Glaxosmithkline, where he became UK National Business Director.  He subsequently was Chief Executive of both listed and privately-held companies.  He is a qualified accountant.

In the NHS, he has held executive roles in both hospital Trusts and commissioners, most recently as Chief Executive of EastBerkshireCCG.  His non-executive roles have also spanned hospitals and commissioners, and chairing of Fitness to Practise panels for the General Social Care Council.

He lives in Chalfont St Peter with his wife, Debbi; they have two children – one a Junior Doctor; the other about to enter medical school.

Tom Roche (MBA) is a senior executive with over 23 years’ extensive experience operating at board level in a variety of executive roles for large, global and complex organisations supporting both the private and public sectors.

Over the past 18 years he has worked with one of the world’s largest IT companies in a number of senior roles. He recently worked as Managing Director of the manufacturing, utilities and services sectors across the UK. Before that he was Vice President of the product business which included the cyber security teams.

Married with 3 children Tom has lived in Amersham for over 24 years where, in addition to family life, he enjoys participating in active sports including cycling, running and swimming as well as gardening and cooking as the children no longer need a chauffeur! His days as a practicing qualified RFU rugby coach are now finished but he still enjoys watching the game.

Tom’s focus will be working alongside the existing Non-Executive Directors to support robust governance. Also to provide a constructive challenge and strategic support to the executive team in relation to finance, strategy and transformation. He also sits on the strategic workforce committee.

Buckinghamshire resident Nicola is a qualified chartered accountant with a proven track record in financial and risk management, business growth and people management.

She holds a number of non-executive positions with organisations including Brighter Futures for Children, the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust, Child Bereavement UK and Turning Point – an organisation providing a range of health and wellbeing services for those with drug or alcohol issues, mental health problems or learning disabilities.

Nicola FrayneAfter graduating from Manchester University with a BSc Hons in Chemistry, Nicola started her executive career in hospitality. Her largest role at Pizza Hut UK Ltd afforded her leadership responsibility for 100 sites, 4,000 employees and cÂŁ100m revenue.

After 12 years in general management, she completed a Masters Degree in Human Resources Management, and spent the next 13 years gaining extensive board level experience in a number of different Chief People Officer roles across a variety of industries, in companies of different sizes, under different ownership structures all with Transformation agendas and in need of Organisational Development expertise.

She took on her first Non-Exec Director role in 2017 whilst Chief People Officer at Bills Restaurants. In 2021, she set up her own business focused on Executive Coaching and Team Effectiveness and in January 2022 joined the board of Optoma Holding Ltd as a Non-Exec Director and Remuneration and Nominations Committee Chair.

She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Married, she has lived in Berkshire for the past 18 years and enjoys tennis, yoga and hiking.

After qualifying and taking his first house job in Respiratory, Oncology and Haematology Medicine at the Royal London Hospital in 1993, Adrian decided to pursue a career in General Practice. He completed his training year at Runnymede Medical Practice, where he stayed on, joining as a partner in 1997, and continues to work clinical sessions to this day.

Adrian has taken on various leadership roles throughout his career, including as Medical Director for East Berkshire Out of Hours, locality lead in Berkshire East PCT, and being elected Clinical Chair for Windsor and Ascot Primary Care Group in 2013.

He is passionate about the role of GPs not only in the delivery of healthcare but also in leading Health systems by working to improve the health of populations whilst living within the allocated health resources.

As a board member of the Windsor and Ascot Primary Care Group in 1999, Adrian took on a lead role for Older People’s Services, developing local falls services and working with the local authority on an Older People’s Partnership Board. In 2015 Adrian supported the NHS Confederation’s commission on examining care gaps in urgent care for Older people. In 2019 Adrian was appointed National Clinical Director for Older people and Integrated Person Centred Care, NHS England & NHS Improvement, supporting the clinical team for the Ageing Well Programme.

Elaine Siew - non exec Board director Elaine is the CEO of gbpartnerships group and Board Director of several public private LIFT companies. Elaine leads gbpartnerships group, a multi-faceted group of companies focussing on asset and project management, consultancy services, property development and investment in primary care estate, the wider health and social care sector, retail and housing. gbpartnerships manage and deliver asset services to an estate worth in excess of £800m, the gbpartnerships consult team provide estates consultancy and partnering services to all LIFTCo stakeholders and other public sector clients. Elaine holds a medical degree and is a chartered accountant with 15 years’ experience as a Corporate Finance partner. Elaine is currently Vice Chair of The LIFT Council and is also an Independent Governor at Wolverhampton University.

Our board affiliate members

Hannah Hornby head and shoulders photo

Hannah Hornby started her career as a Speech and Language Therapist in the Trust in 2013 working at Wycombe and Amersham hospitals and in the community before taking a more senior role at Hillingdon Hospital in 2015. She returned to the Trust in January 2020 and is currently based on the acute medical and critical care wards at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Since returning to the Trust Hannah has worked on quality improvement projects to streamline discharge pathways and develop communication resources for intensive care unit patients. She participated in the Trainee Leadership Board (TLB) before becoming a Board Affiliate in September 2022. Hannah is looking forward to bringing her clinical knowledge and ‘frontline’ experience to the Board, to ensure that patient care and staff wellbeing are always top priorities.

Read Hannah’s blogs about her experience as a Board Affiliate member.

Sarah Lewis, Board affiliate

Dr Sarah Lewis joined BHT as a Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar in 2022 and is currently a trainee on the Thames Valley Orthopaedic Rotation. Sarah initially worked as junior doctor in London before taking time out of training to commence a PhD in Vascular Biology at University College London. Since returning to training she has developed a keen interest in quality improvement, specifically working on projects to reduce waiting list times and increase clinical governance effectiveness.  As a Board Affiliate Sarah is looking forward to building on her understanding of clinical improvement strategies and using this to enhance patient outcomes.

Sarah lives locally with her husband and pet Labrador, Maple.