New board member for Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
With a wealth of more than 30 years of NHS experience, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is announcing Berenice Groves as its new Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer from late autumn.
A trained paramedic by background and currently the Director of Operations at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, she will take responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the hospital – ensuring that exceptional patient care is provided in a safe environment and in line with national standards of performance.
Alongside her clinical and senior management roles, she has also worked on large-scale national programmes – developing NHS111 services across the North East of the country and as the national Head of Improvement for the Emergency Care Intensive Support Team (ECIST).
Paramedic training gave Berenice the foundations to lead in a crisis and her current role includes board level responsibility for emergency planning, which she will also continue to be accountable for here at the Royal. In Blackpool she is supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery and restoration of services – and is looking forward to working with staff to make sure the Trust can proactively respond to the challenges the NHS will face this winter.
She comments: “I am absolutely delighted to have been given the chance to become part of the team at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. This is clearly an excellent organisation with exciting opportunities to develop and further improve care and services for patients. On my visits so far I have been struck by how engaged staff are – and how proud they are to work here. I am looking forward to working with colleagues, partners and our patients to make a difference.”
Angie Smithson, Chief Executive says: “We are so pleased that Berenice is joining us to support the Trust with its goals and ambitions. With her skills and knowledge, she will be a real asset to the Board and – like me – she is clearly passionate about making sure patients receive exceptional care and that hardworking staff are supported and looked after. I am confident that she will address our day-to-day operational challenges by working with colleagues and the Derbyshire health and social care ‘system’. She will bring a new dynamic to our Board we look forward to welcoming her.”
The appointment of Berenice to the Board will enable its current Chief Operating Officer, Tony Campbell, to focus on the huge improvement plan the Trust is setting out to deliver. As Director of Strategy and Transformation he will take on full responsibility for the variety of programmes and plans in place or due to start over the next few months. These range from multi-million pound new builds, through to new clinical partnerships and care pathways and service re-developments.
“To become an even better hospital we must concentrate on our strategy and the critical factors that will help us to reach our goals,” continues Angie. “With these changes to our structure, the Board of Directors is illustrating that improvement is at the heart of everything it does. Over recent months, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the impact of rapid, large scale improvement and the difference it has made. Working with colleagues and partners from across Derbyshire we have the best opportunity we’ve ever had to continue to bring new ideas to life for our patients, our staff and the communities we serve. ”
