New health leader for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin

Mark Brandreth has been named as Interim Accountable Officer for the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and will take up the role on Monday 2 August, at which point he will step down as Chief Executive of The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) – a role he has held for the last five years.

He will continue as Executive Lead for the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS).

Mark has built a solid reputation for his work at RJAH – taking a Trust that was in breach of its licence with its regulator when he took over and rated ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission to one which is now rated ‘Good’ overall and ‘Outstanding’ for care. The Trust has also consistently received excellent feedback via the NHS Staff Survey and Adult Inpatient Survey during this period which is amongst the very best in the NHS.

He also played a key role in the NHS response to the coronavirus pandemic, taking some time away from Shropshire last year to lead a number of national projects including the Nightingale Hospital programme.

“I am delighted to have been appointed to this joint role leading the ICS and the CCG here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin,” said Mark.

“Working closely with colleagues in recent months, I have seen the passion and the desire to do things differently so that we can improve health outcomes and health inequalities for all of our population.

“I look forward to working with our outstanding teams to ensure we deliver world class health and care services for everyone within our borders.

“It has been a great honour to be the Chief Executive of RJAH and it is not an easy decision to move on. I am very proud of what the staff have achieved over my time here – I am very proud of the care we provide to patients.”

Experienced and inclusive leader

Sir Neil McKay, Independent Chair of the STW ICS, said: “Mark has been appointed following a rigorous and competitive recruitment process, where he showed himself to be the outstanding candidate.

“He is an experienced and inclusive leader who knows our system inside out – both its strengths and its challenges. I am delighted that he will be at the helm to guide us through these critical few months ahead as we move towards the ICS becoming a new statutory body from April 2022.”

Dr John Pepper, Chair of the STW CCG, said: “Over the next few months we have a fantastic opportunity to make significant strides in giving our communities the services they deserve and need. I am sure we have the right person at the helm to realise this opportunity.”

RJAH is immediately beginning the process of recruiting a new Chief Executive. Its Chief Nurse, Stacey Keegan, will serve as Acting Chief Executive when Mark leaves.