A new Chair of the Board has joined Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Ian Haythornthwaite replaces the outgoing Chris Hannah, who stepped down at the end of August.
Chief Executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dr Susan Gilby said: “On behalf of the Countess of Chester Hospital, I would like to welcome Ian to his position as Chair of the Board. His experience and expertise during this period will be invaluable as we look to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Once again, I would like to thank all of our incredible staff for their vital work at this time.”
Ian Haythornthwaite will be responsible for leading the Trust’s Board of Directors and Council of Governors and will contribute to the Trust’s strategic direction in the future.
Chair of the Board, Ian Haythornthwaite said: “I am delighted to start in my role as Chair at the Countess. As the Trust continues to treat those most seriously ill with COVID-19, I am determined that we can continue to recover our pre-pandemic capacity for elective care to ensure that residents of West Cheshire and Flintshire can get the care and treatment they need.
“As a Trust it is vital that we continue to remain vigilant to the possibility of COVID outbreaks at the Countess, while we work to manage the financial and staffing pressure created by the pandemic. We must also continue to provide high-quality care to all patients with other conditions such as cancer and ensure we address backlogs in care caused by the pandemic as efficiently and effectively as possible. At the same time, maintaining the strong performance of the Trust’s Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department – which has faced unprecedented levels of demand in recent months – is one of my key priorities.”
The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust was recently rated as “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission.
