With 4000 staff at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, it’s North Derbyshire’s  largest employer – and serves more than 400,000 people living in our local communities and beyond.

Recently awarded GOOD ratings by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – for the hospital and both of its Royal Primary Care Practices, the Trust is well-respected for its performance against national standards, including emergency department waits, timescales for cancer treatments and waiting times for routine operations. It is also recognised for its approach to staff-led improvement and engagement, which resulted in a 71% return rate in the 2018 national staff survey – second highest in the country for an acute hospital.

The Trust has been on a considerable improvement journey over the last three years and from September 2 2019 will have a new Chief Executive to take it one step closer to realising its ambition of achieving an outstanding rating.

The role has been offered to Angie Smithson, currently a Deputy Chief Executive/Chief Operating Officer (COO) who has been based in Liverpool since 2014.

She has more than 30 years of NHS experience, starting her career in nursing and midwifery in 1986, before moving into a range of leadership positions.

Since 2017, she has combined her COO role with the responsibilities of Integration Director, leading a complex and challenging merger to combine Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Commenting on her appointment Angie says: “I am so pleased to be offered the Chief Executive leadership role at Chesterfield Royal. I’m excited at the prospect of taking on the scale of this opportunity and really look forward to working with everyone. I am passionate about ensuring the delivery of exceptional care for patients and I have also been part of engaging and leading staff through challenging changes that have helped to ensure sustainable services, at the same time as realising enhanced patient experience and a host of other improvements. ”

The Trust’s Chair, Dr Helen Phillips comments: “It’s a thrilling time for a new Chief Executive to join us and I am certain that Angie will direct the Trust in our continued ambition to achieve ‘outstanding’ both for the care we give to all our patients and for the workplace we provide to all our staff. I believe that Angie’s track-record of realising large scale change in health services is an asset. As Chief Executive, her leadership will be crucial to build on our Leading the Chesterfield Way approach, where our values and principles around staff engagement and staff-led improvement have already started to make a difference.

The new Chief Executive ‘s appointment will need to be ratified by the Trust’s Council of Governors in June 2019 – and Angie’s expected start date is the beginning of September. She will replace Simon Morritt, who joined the Trust in 2017 and will be moving on to the Chief Executive role at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Leading law firm Banner Jones Solicitors has today announced the further expansion of its senior management team with a raft of Director promotions.

Spanning the firm’s employment law and dispute resolution departments, the move sees Head of Employment Law, Katie Ash, and Head of Dispute Resolution, Rob Stubbs, being appointed as Shareholding Directors, and Lee Foster, Dispute Resolution Solicitor, receiving a promotion to Director.

Taking on their new positions will see Shareholding Directors, Katie and Rob, sit on the strategic decision-making board at Banner Jones.

The move comes amidst continued growth for the firm which employs more than 120 staff across its South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire offices; specialising in a wide spectrum of legal advice for businesses and individuals – including employment law, family law, dispute resolution and conveyancing.

Katie advises on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, including claims for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and discrimination. With particular expertise in TUPE, she has advised on complex situations for local and national organisations.

Rob joined Banner Jones in 2004 and was promoted to Director in 2012, he specialises in all aspects of Dispute Resolution, including commercial disputes, Wills and Estate disputes and professional negligence.

After qualifying in 2002, Lee has practiced across the Derbyshire country and joined Banner Jones in 2015. Lee has a wealth of experience in commercial litigation, Wills and Estate disputes and contractual disputes.

Commenting on the appointments, Executive Director at Banner Jones, Chris Sellars said: “I would like to congratulate Katie, Rob and Lee on their promotions which acknowledge the hard work, dedication and invaluable contribution that these individuals have made to the practice.”

“Here at Banner Jones, we are committed to investing in our staff and providing them with opportunities to develop their career within the firm.”

“In addition to our new appointments, we are continually on the lookout for passionate, skilled individuals at all levels and this recruitment drive is indicative of client demand for our expert, no-nonsense legal services and our ambitions to grow the practice further.”

Banner Jones, operating from its offices in Chesterfield, Sheffield, Dronfield, Mansfield and Nottingham, was recognised in the Legal 500 for the sixth year in a row, with its Family Law team celebrating a move up the ranks to Tier 2, and the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence team maintaining their Tier 2 ranking.

Chesterfield Champion BHP is celebrating after winning two awards at the prestigious Yorkshire Accountancy Awards.

Yorkshire and North Derbyshire’s leading accountancy firm was recognised as both Mid-Tier Firm of the Year and Best Employer of the Year at the awards, which took place at the New Dock Hall in Leeds.

Alongside winning two awards, BHP were also finalists in the Managing Partner of the Year and Rising Star categories at the event on Wednesday 8 May.

Now in its second year, the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards represent accountancy firms of all sizes, working with both local and international clients, and recognise both team and individual efforts within the Yorkshire industry.

Winning Best Employer at the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards follows the firm’s recent recognition by the Sunday Times in their 100 Best Companies to Work For list in February, a hard-fought and nationally celebrated list that recognises the very best in employee engagement around the country.

Lisa Leighton, Joint Managing Partner said: “We are extremely proud to have won these two awards.”

“Over the last 10 years, BHP has experienced significant growth and increase in turnover, and this success is testament to the firm putting its people first.”

Hamish Morrison, Joint Managing Partner added: “The BHP team are agile, pioneering and future-facing, and as a team we continue to move from an accountancy to advisory focus – meeting shifting client needs.”

“The last 12 months have been crucial for us as a business and this recognition is testament to the hard work of the whole team.”

BHP has more than 300 staff, including 31 partners. Over the last 10 years the business has increased turnover from £8m to over £22m.

BHP remains in the top 35 accountancy firms in the UK and was also recently recognised with the Community Award at the Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards. The firm has five offices in Chesterfield, Sheffield, Cleckheaton, Leeds, and York.

For more information about BHP click here.

Chesterfield Champions Milestone Financial Planning have recently recruited a top lawyer following his progression into the field of financial management.

Craig Croft-Rayner originally qualified as a lawyer in 2007. He has since practised at various law firms, specialising in high value personal injury and clinical negligence cases.

Having always had a keen interest in financial planning, Craig is relishing the opportunity of making the career change, by joining a successful, forward thinking company in an area which he loves.

Craig said: “I have always held myself to the highest client care standards and enjoy being a complex problem solver. My role within the company will be looking after the needs of clients, discussing their financial objectives and tailoring advice that is unique to them.”

“I will also be heavily involved in financial research, producing recommendations and keeping abreast of economic trends and issues. This will ensure Milestone’s clients are best protected against economic volatility.”

“What attracted me to Milestone was the close knit family atmosphere they radiate. They are passionate and enthusiastic and always put clients’ interests as a top priority. This is a quality that is really important to me.”

Milestone MD, Michael Heath said: “There are many different career backgrounds that can pave the way to being a successful financial planner, but the practice of law prepares any aspiring advisor better than most. Craig is vastly experienced in dealing with high value complex cases and is already making a real impact within the company. We are delighted to have him on board.”

Milestone is a very different financial practice, in the fact that they offer truly independent financial planning. They don’t believe in searching for last year’s best investment performer, blinding clients with science or confusing them with industry jargon. Believing in a common-sense approach, they strive to deliver consistent returns that take the worry out of investing.

More information about Craig and Milestone Financial Planning can be viewed here.

Last year marked IT firm Addooco’s 10^th year of trading, celebrating with the expansion of the team and its client base. One year on and the company has reported its most successful year to date, counting its prime Chesterfield location as one of its success factors.

Addooco provides technical services for businesses that haven’t got a dedicated in-house IT team. Their overarching objective is to realise value for their clients through technically superior digital strategies. With a rapidly growing base of clients, its clear this resonates with businesses in a broad range of industries.

Born in 2008 from a group of technically savvy people, Addooco saw the potential to create a business out of their skills. Over ten years later, the firm has rapidly grown and with the addition of new engineers, Addooco recognised the need to develop its people.

They enlisted the help of BSA Training (www.bsa-training.co.uk), an award-winning training provider dedicated to improving people and organisations. Run by trainer Bobby Singh, the business offers a multitude of courses such as Leadership & Management, Business Strategy, Sales and Marketing, Team Development, Communication and Customer Care.

Paul Walters of Addooco explains: “We needed someone with the capability to offer leadership training as well as coaching for our more junior staff members and employee surveys for staff at all levels.”

The training, led by Bobby Singh, covered a wide range of topics; including strategic planning, leadership, management, employee engagement, and giving and receiving feedback. “We have worked really hard to ensure our headquarters provides a comfortable working atmosphere,” says Paul. “It provided the perfect opportunity to reward our staff by investing in their transferable skills.”

Addooco’s strategically located base allows their engineers to physically service client requirements onsite where necessary from Newcastle to London in under two hours. Organisations both nationally and those with international operations benefit from their cloud solutions and digital strategies. Now, their clients are fully supported by a highly trained and physically available team.

Paul takes part in the leadership and management training himself and also helps facilitate the engineering workshops. “Bobby came highly recommended, but his previous experience and great programme of work were the deciding factors,” he explains. “His approach is very smart, friendly and approachable. He easily finds out what the challenge is even if you are struggling to articulate it.”

While Addooco has grown rapidly, it is an organisation that has always looked after its people while also focusing on customer requests. During his time working as an external consultant for the company, Bobby Singh recognised this. “From day one, Addooco have identified the importance of investing in its people. They don’t think of it as a cost to the business, but more about how it adds value to the bigger picture,” Bobby explains. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with the team, they have been really receptive to the new learning, and I’m over the moon to hear they are happy with the training and the impact the training has had.”

As an approved provider of a local training funding initiative, BSA Training was able to help Addooco IT access 50% funding towards the cost of the training.  Bobby explains “We were able to sit down with Paul and understand where they were and where they wanted to be as a business.  We then designed a programme and helped them put together a funding application, demonstrating a strong business case.”

Addooco’s prime Chesterfield location, people development and technical superiority will be key drivers to success moving forwards. It is anticipated that the company will continue to invest in both its technical offering and their people to ensure their clients continue to enjoy a strategic advantage.