Trust announces new Chair

Date posted: 31 October 2024

News type: News

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust announces Dr Anita Donley OBE as its new Chair, as long-standing Trust Chair, Richard Shaw, retires after more than 12 years at SASH.

As an acute medicine consultant physician of more than 30 years, Dr Donley is also an experienced Chair with broad experience across healthcare, quality and patient safety and medical education. She retired from clinical practice in 2019, but her national healthcare and frontline experience will be a welcome addition to the Trust’s acute and system-wide work over the coming years.

With over 20 years of experience in national healthcare strategy and policy, Anita’s work spans both government departments and non-statutory bodies. In 2013 she led a report for the Ministry of Justice and UK Border Agency (UKBA) on the healthcare of suspected internal drugs traffickers in UKBA custody, and as National Clinical Director at NHS England for Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), she led the successful programme to reduce avoidable deaths which involved system-wide change across the NHS – with the British Medical Journal reporting evidence of a 15% reduction in mortality within 90 days of discharge over a nine year period as a result.

Angela Stevenson, Chief Executive at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said of the appointment: “The next few years will be crucial ones for our Trust, and we are excited to be welcoming Anita as our new Chair. I am confident that her experience both managerial and clinical, will stand us in good stead for the strategic and system-wide challenges ahead. Her longstanding motivation to make improvements and provide sustainable high quality health services also go hand in hand with our own mission as a Trust. I look forward to working with her in the months to come.”

Dr Donley, who will take up the role on 1 December 2024, said “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and the excellent team who work there. I look forward to working with colleagues across Surrey and Sussex ICBs to improve care quality and safety across the system.”

Notes to editors

Dr Donley’s previous roles include Chair of Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Independent Chair of the Mid and South Essex STP/ICS; Clinical Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians leading the Future Hospital Programme; Medical Director of the Revalidation Team for DH England; NHS National Clinical Director for VTE; Human Genetics Commissioner; and Health Professionals lead for the WHO Global Patient Safety Programme on medication safety.