Two hospital trusts working within a group model have this week announced the appointment of a single chief executive officer.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have appointed Stacey Hunter, current chief executive officer at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust after an extensive recruitment process.
Professor Derek Bell, joint chair for the two trusts working within a group model said of the appointment: “This is a really important move forward for our group model. To have a single leadership supporting the challenges and opportunities across our geography will pay dividends for our patients and communities, and of course our staff.
"A united single voice that will work to represent our ambition for this region has been long sought. We are absolutely delighted that Stacey will take on that role as our CEO working to support and serve our populations."
Stacey Hunter joins the trusts from Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, where she has worked as their chief executive officer since September 2020.
Prior to that she worked for Bradford and Airedale Foundation Trusts, and spent some time seconded to the Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stacey commenced her career in 1990 as a nurse at Hull Hospitals and Leeds Teaching Hospital.
The two Teesside-based trusts announced their group ambitions in January this year, after securing the permanent appointment of a joint chair, Professor Derek Bell OBE, in September 2021.