Leadership change at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Chief Executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Louise Robson, has announced she will be leaving her role to take up a new leadership post working across the North West, North East and Yorkshire regions.

Following Louise’s announcement it has been agreed that Karen James OBE, Chief Executive of Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, will provide leadership support to Stockport NHS Foundation Trust over the next 12 months after which this arrangements will be reviewed. Karen will retain Chief Executive responsibilities  across both trusts, supported by their strong respective executive directors’ teams.

Louise Robson, who joined the Trust in January 2019, is moving to become Chief Executive Lead for Provider Collaboration to support the development of NHS hospitals working together covering seven health and care networks in the North of England. Learning from this work will influence how so called “provider collaboratives” develop at pace across the country. Louise said:

One of the positive things to come out of the way the NHS has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic is how NHS provider organisations have worked together. The development of “provider collaborative” builds on that experience, and it is exciting to be given the opportunity to help shape a new more devolved way of working that will put NHS provider organisations at the forefront of developing new systems and healthcare economies to meet the needs of local communities.”

Adrian Belton, Chair of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, said:

We are extremely grateful to Louise for the work she has done over the last two years to lay the foundations of an extensive improvement plan that the organisation is now starting to see the benefit of. This is a tremendous opportunity for Louise and we wish her well for the future.

“I am sure that under the leadership of Karen we will see further improvements to the long standing challenges facing the Trust and the local health and care system. She will bring clinically led expertise in quality and performance improvement, but also a deep commitment to employee engagement, partnership and integrated working. I am confident Karen will enhance the skills available to our Board.”

Karen James has led Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust since 2014 and she will retain her Chief Executive responsibilities there, ably supported by her strong executive team, and with Trish Cavanagh, Deputy Chief Executive, providing the day-to-day leadership for the Trust. Karen said:

I am pleased to work with Stockport at this time and I look forward to working with the team there to help them continue the improvement journey that they began under Louise’s leadership.”

Jane McCall, Chair of Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Under Karen’s guidance Tameside & Glossop has delivered significant improvements to the way in which we serve our local patients and people. I am very supportive of Karen working with Stockport so both organisations can continue to put their patients and people at heart of what we do.”