Mr Frank Collins

Chairman

Frank Collins was appointed as Chairman in February 2015.

Frank has extensive experience in healthcare leadership. He spent his early career in the NHS culminating in Chief Executive posts at Kettering General Hospital and Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Trust.  

Following this Frank moved into the private sector with Chief Executive posts at a private hospital; Hydron Ltd, (a manufacturer and supplier of contact lenses) and The Summit Medical Group (an international medical devices company), where he subsequently became Chairman.  

Frank currently serves as Non-Executive Director and Chairman to a range of healthcare related companies. He is also a trustee of a local charity.

Declaration of interest:

• Non-Executive Chairman and shareholder in Frontier Medical Group Limited (Companies House No. 08670394).
• Non-Executive Chairman of Bracebridge Corporate Finance Limited (Companies House No. 08875676).
• Non-Executive Chairman of JRI Orthopaedics Ltd.
• Member of the Advisory Board to Mercia Technologies.

Mr Mark Brandreth

Chief Executive

Mark has been the Chief Executive at RJAH since April 2016.

He joined from the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust where he was Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations and Planning. 

He has worked in a number of senior NHS management posts over the last 20 years. Mark has also worked in Wales and was invited to work for a period in a national role at the Department of Health.

Mark has a particular interest in improving services for patients and improving organisational culture and change.

Declaration of interest:

• Partner and Trustee of Lancashire and South Cumbria Neurological Alliance (Charity)

Mr Harry Turner

Deputy Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Harry has extensive experience, having served as a Non-Executive Director and then Chairman of Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust between 2008 and 2016.

He also took up the position of Chairman of the John Taylor Hospice in Birmingham October 2016 and is also a Non-Executive Director on Dudley and Walsall Mental Health NHS Trust.

Harry has also been a Justice of the Peace in Worcestershire Courts for more than a decade.

He previously worked as an Operations Director in the hotel industry, working for businesses including Travel Inn and Marriott International.

Declaration of interest:

• Chairman of John Taylor Hospice CIC, Birmingham
• Non-Executive Director for Dudley and Walsall Mental Health NHS Trust
• Trustee to Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven Charity
• Steering group member for NHS research project PEARL
• Owner of F.T.K Associates
• Owner of Vacational Rentals Lda, Portugal
• Magistrate for West Mercia Benches HMCTS 

Mr Christopher Beacock

Non-Executive Director

Mr Christopher Beacock lives in Shropshire, is a Foundation Trust member and takes a keen interest in the hospital. 

He has also served as Chairman of the Clinical Governance and Clinical Audit Committee and also sat on Quality Safety Committee.

He has 27 years clinical experience as a Consultant Urological Surgeon as well as experience as a Deputy Medical Director.  He formally retired in 2014 and has been working on a part time contract since then.

He has worked across a wide range of acute Trusts, integrated care organisations and community service providers and has a long standing interest in medical management. 

Mr David Gilburt

Non-Executive Director

David is Chair of the Audit Committee, and member of the Quality and Safety Committee and the Finance Planning and Digital Committee.

David is a qualified accountant and has worked as Director of Finance in roles across the NHS within Health Authority’s, Clinical Commissioning Groups, and Trusts as well as at a regional level. 

More recently he has worked as an independent consultant specialising in financial turnaround for NHS organisations in financial difficulty. In this capacity he worked at RJAH from June 2007 to July 2008 as Interim Director of Finance and Turnaround.

Declaration of interest:

• Chair of Cheshire PCC and Chief Constable's Joint Audit Advisory Committee
• Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair of Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHST
• Member of the HFMA Governance and Audit Committee

Rachel Hopwood

Non-Executive Director

Rachel joined the Board of Directors at RJAH in December 2019 and is Chair of the Finance, Planning and Digital Committee.

Prior to RJAH, Rachel was a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Rachel is a chartered accountant, qualifying with Ernst & Young, a major accounting and advisory firm. After a career in finance and investment banking in the City of London, latterly as an Executive Director at ABN AMRO, she relocated with her family back to Cheshire in 2008.

Prior to joining the Board, Rachel was a Non-Executive Director of Western Cheshire PCT and Lay Advisor to West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group. She is also a Director in a company providing risk, management and financial consultancy services in the region.

Professor Paul Kingston

Non-Executive Director

Paul Kingston was appointed as a Non-Executive Director for RJAH in 2019 and is currently a Professor of Ageing and Mental Heath and the Director of the Centre for Ageing and Mental Health at the University of Chester.

Additionally, Paul has been involved in the development of training material for adult protection and also co-founded the charity Action on Elder Abuse.

He also is the Independent Adult Safeguarding Board Chair for Wigan, NHS England Safeguarding Adult Network and Chair of the Royal British Legions Safeguarding Forum.

Paul chairs the People Committee and also attends the Quality and Safety Committee, Safeguarding Committee and the Audit Comittee.

Mrs Hilary Pepler

Board Advisor

Hilary is the Trust's Board Advisor and member of the Quality and Safety Committe.

Previously a Non-Executive Director for RJAH who was Chair of the Quality and Safety Committee and a member of the Audit Committe.

Hilary brings a wealth of clinical, managerial and executive experience.  She started her NHS career as a nurse, working primarily within Community Health Services; she then moved into managerial roles, working as the Director of Human Resources at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. In 1993 she became a Trust Chief Executive, working in Chester, Liverpool and the North East Wales Trust.  Following her retirement in 2007 Hilary has worked as a volunteer with the National Trust.
 

Declaration of interest:

• Volunteer for National Trust

Dr Ruth Longfellow

Chief Medical Officer

Ruth has been Chief Medical Officer at RJAH since April 2021.

Ruth graduated from the University of Edinburgh with her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) degree. She then completed her Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCA) examination in 2006 and a Diploma in Medical Education at Nottingham University in 2011.

In 2011, she was appointed to RJAH as a Consultant Anaesthetist. In April 2019, she became the Associate Medical Director for the Trust.

Ruth’s interests include patient safety and Human Factors, medical education and regional anaesthesia.

Stacey Keegan

Chief Nursing and Patient Safety Officer

Stacey joined RJAH in the position of Interim Director of Nursing in November 2019, before becoming Director of Nursing in March 2020. Her role changed to Chief Nursing and Patient Safety Officer in April 2020.

She arrived from the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham, where she most recently held the position of Deputy Director of Nursing and Clinical Governance.

A trauma and orthopaedic nurse by background, she has held various leadership and management roles including Matron and Divisional Head of Nursing positions.

Stacey has an MSc in Senior Healthcare Leadership and the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Award in Senior Healthcare leadership. She has experience and interest in nursing workforce redesign, recruitment and retention, and patient involvement.

Mr Craig Macbeth

Chief Finance and Planning Officer

Craig joined the Trust in 2008 as Deputy Director of Finance having previously worked at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital. 

He was instrumental in supporting the Trusts’ sustainable services programme taking the lead on the contracting and commissioning elements.  He subsequently led the finance team through the Foundation Trust application process and has more recently been leading the business planning for the Trust. 

He became Acting Director of Finance in October 2015. He was later named Associate Director of Finance, before becoming Director of Finance on 1 April 2017.

Craig's role changed on 1 April 2019 when he took on responsibility for organisational strategy and planning, with his title changing to Director of Finance and Planning. In April 2020, his job title changed to Chief Finance and Planning Officer.

Mrs Kerry Robinson

Chief Performance, Improvement and Organisational Development Officer

Kerry started at RJAH in July 2016 as Director of Strategy and Planning.  Kerry joined from the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where she was Assistant Director of Planning. She began her NHS career in 2008 at the Countess of Chester Hospital, having trained as an accountant.  Kerry has an MBA, BSc (Hons) and is a chartered management accountant.

As of 1 April 2019, Kerry's role changed to become lead director of Performance and the management of Information as well as retaining her existing roles as lead director for Service Improvement and Research alongside her responsibility of implementing the Trust's Organisational Development Strategy. To reflect this her title changed to Director of Performance, Improvement and Organisational Development. In April 2020, her title was updated to Chief Performance, Improvement and Organisational Development Officer.

Prior to joining the NHS, Kerry has worked in logistics, food manufacturing, telecommunications and oil research, commencing employment in project management, moving to finance, to then move into strategy and planning. 

Kerry has a passionate belief in caring for staff to deliver patient focused service design through successful partnership working and clinical engagement at all levels.  She has extensive experience in collaborative working and partnership agreements.