The Governors at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust have appointed a new Chair for the Trust, Simon Waugh.
Simon joins the Trust from the National Apprenticeship Service, where he was accountable directly to Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education. He has also been a director for a number of FTSE 25 companies including Centrica, and a main board director of SAGA Group.
Simon’s wealth of experience and national reputation in delivering exceptional results for a multitude of organisations and sectors made him the ideal fit for Southern Health. He will be playing a major role in helping the leadership of Southern Health continue to strengthen its customer focus and strategic direction.
Chief Executive of Southern Health, Katrina Percy said: “We are delighted to welcome someone with gravitas and experience on a national level. The addition of Simon to the leadership of this organisation brings significant experience which will drive Southern Health to even higher levels of achievement.”
During the past 10 years Simon has also accumulated significant experience as both a Non-Executive Director and as Chairman in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. This includes a position as trustee of Help the Aged, and since 2002 Simon has been Chairman of SPARKS, the children’s charity.
Following a rigorous two-day selection process involving a variety of stakeholders, Simon was chosen from a strong field of candidates. He added: “This is a tremendous opportunity to be part of the excellent work that Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust does. It prides itself on giving quality care to people when and where they need it.
“It is a great responsibility and honour to be appointed and to take the reins from Carol Bode who has steered the Trust over the past years.”
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust came into being on April 1 2011 when mental health and learning disability services merged with community care to become one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the south.
January 24 2012
