Welcoming NHS England to Our Trust - January 30, 2025

We are thrilled to share that our Trust had the honour of hosting esteemed colleagues from NHS England yesterday (30 January 2025): Dr Navina Evans CBE, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer, and Thomas Simons, Chief Human Resources and Organisational Development Officer.

The visit was a significant opportunity for us to showcase the dedication of our colleagues to delivering excellence in patient care and staff experience.  

Navina brings over twenty years of clinical experience in psychiatry, medicine, and paediatrics to her role, and she has been a beacon of leadership and advocacy for staff wellbeing and patient care. She joined NHS England from East London NHS Foundation Trust, where she served as Chief Executive and held other pivotal roles. Thomas, appointed in 2022, brings a wealth of HR expertise from his previous roles at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and other NHS trusts. His commitment to organisational development and human resources has been instrumental in shaping effective workforce strategies.

A warm welcome in the Boardroom was followed by a walk to the Education Centre for a wide-ranging discussing about training reform, EPR training design and delivery, and medical school expansion. Sessions about the work to embed our Anti-Racism Strategy session and the Sexual Safety Charter emphasised the importance of making our Trust a place where everyone feels safe and belong. Our visitors enjoyed hearing about how the Admin Matters approach supports our admin and clerical colleagues and the impact of our Health and Wellbeing Hub and wider wellbeing offer. A visit to our Emergency Department raised an opportunity to consider the recent positive investment in the ED workforce and the importance of linking service and workforce development. We rounded off the day with a roundtable discussion with colleagues from partner trusts, the ICB and University of Derby about common workforce challenges and opportunities.

Caroline Wade MBE, Executive Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said: "We have a lot to be proud of and this visit was a testament to our ongoing commitment to working with colleagues to make sure everyone has a positive experience of working in our Trust. We are continuing to work together to foster an inclusive and supportive environment for both our staff and patients and as colleagues interacted with our guests, it’s great to see the drive and commitment of colleagues to support each other and keep making progress towards our ambition.”

Mahmud Nawaz, Chair, concluded: "It was an honour to welcome Tom and my fellow APNA NHS colleague Navina to visit us and share our progress and future plans. Their insights and feedback are invaluable as we strive to achieve excellence in healthcare delivery. I’d like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in making this visit a success. Your hard work and dedication are truly appreciated. Thank you.”