New interim chair appointments across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group

We are delighted to announce that Rachel Parker and Trevor Shipman will be taking on the roles as interim Chairs for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire from 1 April 2023. 

Rachel, who is currently Deputy Chair for Northampton General Hospital, and Trevor, who is currently Deputy Chair for Kettering General Hospital, will step into the roles of Chair for their respective organisations while recruitment continues for a substantive Chair for the two hospitals. The move follows the retirement of the current Chair of both organisations, Alan Burns, who steps down at the end of this month.

Interim Group Chief Executive Debbie Needham said: “We are delighted that Rachel and Trevor have agreed to step into the respective roles. They both have a wealth of experience alongside their already extensive knowledge of our organisations. I know I speak on behalf of the Boards when I say we are very much looking forward to continuing our work with them so that our organisations can offer the best care possible to the communities of Northamptonshire.”

Rachel, who has several years' board-level experience of managing operations and performance, said: “I am really pleased to be stepping into the interim Chair role at Northampton. It is no secret that the last few years in the NHS have been incredibly challenging, but I am regularly impressed by the amount of fantastic work going on across our organisations. I look forward to continuing working closely with both the teams in Northampton and Trevor, and the Kettering Board, on our collaborative work.”

Trevor, who has extensive experience in the NHS including as a finance director of a London Foundation Trust. said: “It is a privilege to be asked to step into the interim Chair role at Kettering. I am really proud of our organisations, throughout my time on the Board I have been constantly impressed by the achievements of our teams – putting our patients first to provide the best care possible for our communities. I look forward to continuing my support of this work to deliver our Dedicated to Excellence Strategy both in our hospital and across our collaboration.”