Welcome to Laura Churchward, new UHN Chief Executive

We are delighted to welcome Laura Churchward to UHN today (1 Oct) as our new Chief Executive. Laura joins us from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), where she has been the Director of Strategy for seven years. Laura will lead UHN across its two hospitals on a day-to-day basis and work closely with Richard Mitchell, the Group Chief Executive of UHN and University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) to deliver improvements to patient care, employment, research, education, and finances.

Laura has delivered many impressive achievements in her NHS career. At University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), she has been responsible for the build and commission of a major new ENT and Dental Hospital in 2019 and she led the development of the Grafton Way Building, which opened in 2021 and included the commission of a proton beam therapy service (one of two for NHS patients in the UK). Laura has extensive experience in service redesign, business case development and project management. Prior to moving into strategy in 2014, she held several senior operational roles at UCLH, including the management of stand-alone sites. Laura is a Northamptonshire resident and has three primary-school aged children who were all born at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.