Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital make senior leadership appointments

Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital have announced three senior appointments as they continue to implement leadership arrangements for the two Trusts to be run as a new hospital group.

Andy Callow has been appointed to the role of Group Chief Digital Information Officer. Andy has been undertaking this role on an interim basis for the past month, having been Chief Digital and Information Officer for Kettering General Hospital since April 2019.

Andy said: “It’s a real privilege to be given the responsibility to lead the digital journeys of our two hospitals and make so many improvements, which will make a massive difference to our patients and our staff. There’s an exciting future ahead and things will look a lot different in just 12 months.

Deborah Needham has been appointed as Hospital Chief Executive for Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Debbie is well known to colleagues, particularly at Northampton General Hospital, where she has spent the last 16 years of her career in operational leadership roles. Debbie has provided leadership to NGH for nearly six months now as Interim Hospital CEO.

Northampton General Hospital will continue to recruit to the post of Hospital Chief Executive and, in the meantime, Eileen Doyle, who has provided expert leadership to KGH as Interim CEO for the past six months, will hand over to Debbie in March 2021. At this point, Eileen will assume the role of Interim CEO for NGH.

Eileen has a wealth of experience in operational leadership having joined KGH earlier this year from Bedford Hospitals, where she held the position of Deputy CEO.

Deborah said: “After 16 years at NGH I am sad to be leaving, but with the development of the hospital group I’m pleased to say that I won’t be going far. This is a great opportunity for NGH to move forward with new and fresh ideas and I wish Eileen all the best as interim hospital CEO while a permanent postholder is appointed. I am very excited about my new role at KGH and am very much looking forward to working with my new leadership team and to meeting more colleagues across the Trust in 2021.”

Eileen said: “It has been a pleasure to support KGH over the past few months. I am delighted to be extending my work with the Group to provide support as interim CEO for NGH while the recruitment process takes place”.

Group Chief Executive Simon Weldon said: “I am delighted to make these appointments. They are outstanding leaders and we are very fortunate to have secured their expertise and I would like to thank Eileen for her continued support. They have made significant contributions, particularly during recent months which have been so testing for us all.

“There are many improvements on the horizon which will see us enhance the quality of care we provide to our patients as well as the environment in which we all work.”