Jo Williams named as one of England’s top NHS trust CEOs
The Chief Executive of the NHS Group, which provides acute and community healthcare in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, has been named as one of England’s top NHS trust leaders.
Jo Williams is listed at number 10 in the Health Service Journal’s (HSJ) top 50 NHS trust Chief Executives - a prestigious industry ranking.
Jo is Group CEO of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Community and Hospitals NHS Group – the agreed alliance between Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (ShropCom) and The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).
The judges were asked to choose the top 50 based on three criteria - the performance of the organisations they lead given the circumstances they are in, their contribution to the wider NHS and the personal example they set.
The judges recognised the “impressive turnaround” at SaTH under Jo’s leadership, since she joined in 2024. SaTH exited special measures in March after nearly eight years, is the most improved Trust nationally for elective recovery and delivered its financial plan for the first time in 10 years.
The Trust is rising through NHS England’s performance tables, from amongst the lowest Trusts last year to 78th currently.
Jo also led ShropCom to Segment 1 and 14th (from Segment 2 and 17th) in the Non-Acute Trust league tables. ShropCom has continued to deliver significant improvements in waiting times, especially in children’s speech and language services. Looking after staff is at the heart of the positive change happening. Under Jo’s leadership SaTH achieved university status in 2025 recognising its commitment to education and staff were empowered to develop an improved menopause offer for colleagues.
Using the scale of working as a Group, there are ambitious plans to develop a wellbeing strategy and a compassionate leadership programme in 2026/27.
Jo said: “It is an honour to have been recognised amongst so many inspiring colleagues. This recognition however is not about me, it is about the 10,000 colleagues who bring such care, compassion and dedication for their patients.
“Their commitment to quality and improvement inspires me every day. I feel so privileged to be part of this amazing team as together we lead a compassionate culture where everyone belongs and has a voice.
“I am proud of the progress we are making, working closely with families, patients and partners. We remain humble, as there is much more for us to do and we will keep moving forwards as we want to be the best places to receive care and work, building confidence in our NHS.”
Andrew Morgan, Group Chair, said: “We are immensely proud of Jo and this well-deserved recognition of her incredible leadership. Jo cares deeply about our patients and colleagues and is determined that everyone receives excellent care, first time.
“Jo’s openness, compassion and kindness is inspiring tangible change, supporting colleagues to deliver these phenomenal improvements and transforming our services for the communities we serve.”
The HSJ Top 50 was judged by leading health service figures, which included NHS England Finance Director Elisabeth O’Mahony, Royal College of Nurses General Secretary Nicola Ranger, Acting CEO of the Care Quality Commission Arun Chopra, and the retiring CEO of Royal Berkshire, Steve McManus. HSJ is a trade magazine aimed at healthcare leaders.
