Non-Executive Director

We are seeking two Non-Executive Directors to complement our existing Board Members, using their skills and experiences to help us to achieve our ambitions and strategy.

Of the two Non-Executive Directors we are seeking, one must have significant skills and experience in relation to digital technology. We recognise the importance of digital as a key enabler to transformation, productivity and clinical outcomes. This has been identified as one of the three areas of focus for the Great North Healthcare Alliance's Joint Committee and we are passionate about ensuring that we make a valuable contribute to this work to benefit our patients, colleagues and partners. The digital Non-Executive Director will chair our Digital Committee.

In the context of limited resources and significant financial challenges within the Trust and across the wider NHS, there is a need for all organisations to focus on being as efficient and effective as possible, delivering value for money whilst striving to continue to enhance the quality of services. From our second Non-Executive Director position, we are therefore looking for a qualified accountant who can chair our Group Audit Committee and help us to ensure that our control environment is strong.

To ensure that the patient perspective is appropriately represented, we are encouraging candidates who can demonstrate direct involvement with a wide range of diverse communities., As a Non-Executive Director, you will work alongside the Chair, other Non-Executive Directors and Executive Directors of the Trust as a full member of the Board. You will be individually and collectively accountable with the other Directors for the success of the organisation and will have the responsibility to constructively challenge the decisions of the Board and help develop proposals on priorities, risk mitigation, values, standards and strategies.

To ensure that the patient perspective is appropriately represented, we are encouraging candidates who can demonstrate direct involvement with a wide range of diverse communities. Empathy for the experience of our service users and carers will be crucial along with an ability to engage with our dedicated staff, Governors, and members.

Non-Executive Director appointments are made by the Trust's Council of Governors taking into account local needs and the requirements of the Code of Governance for NHS Provider Trusts.

Non-Executive Directors are chosen for their breadth of experience, appropriate calibre and personal qualities.

A Non-Executive Director of the Trust, or any other NHS Foundation Trust, may not be or become a Governor of the Foundation Trust.

Note that Non-Executive Directors must be a member of one of the public constituencies of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. Further information on our constituencies is included in the candidate information pack.

At Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust we provide a wide range of acute, community and older peoples' mental health services to our local community and beyond. We also provide a range of specialist services including bowel screening for a population of around 7 million people and specialist gynaecological cancer treatments from the Scottish Borders through to Cumbria and Whitby.

We employ over 5,100 people and have over 400 hospital beds across the Gateshead area. We have an annual turnover of around £400 million and our wholly-owned subsidiary, QE Facilities, provides a wide range of high-quality services to the Trust and other NHS organisations.

Our philosophy is that to achieve the best patient care and outcomes we must be clinically-led and management supported - this is an integral part of our approach to everything we do.

We have three main strategic ambitions: to be a Northern Centre of Excellence for Women's Health; to be a leading provider of diagnostic services; and to be an outstanding district general hospital. We believe that by achieving these ambitions we will be able to make a valuable contribution to the healthcare of the people of Gateshead, but also to the wider North East and North Cumbria.

We are proud to be rated as 'good' overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at our last full inspection. Our maternity services were inspected in 2023 and we were delighted to be rated as 'good' with a number of areas of outstanding practice highlighted.