We are pleased to announce that Matthew Trainer (pictured) has been appointed as our substantive Chief Executive. For the past three years, he has been CEO of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a wide range of health and social care in south east London and parts of Kent. Before that he worked for King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where he was managing director of the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley. Matthew has also worked for NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the MS Society. He will join our Trust in August.

Welcoming his appointment, our Chair, Mike Bell, said: “I am delighted Matthew will be our permanent CEO. He will arrive at a critical time in our development as we recover from Covid-19, reduce our waiting lists, and develop both our closer collaboration with Barts Health and our place-based health and care partnerships with our boroughs.

“Matthew is a successful leader with a wealth of experience in senior roles, who has built and sustained partnerships that are delivering improved services”. 

Commenting on his appointment, Matthew said: “I am looking forward to meeting colleagues at Queen’s and King George hospitals to find out how we can work together to deliver the best possible care for the residents of Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge. 

“Everyone I’ve talked to at the Trust has spoken with pride about the huge efforts the team has gone to during the pandemic, first to save lives and now to tackle waiting lists. We need to build on these achievements, with the help of our local partners, in the years ahead.”

Matthew will take over from Tony Chambers who joined us on an interim basis last year. Tony said: “I am immensely proud of the way BHRUT responded to the pandemic and pleased we have had a sustained focus on the wellbeing of our colleagues. As we regain the freedoms we lost during the lockdowns, we continue to recover our elective work in a way that has impressed many people elsewhere in the NHS”. 

Paying tribute to Tony’s time at BHRUT, Mike Bell commented: “I will always be indebted to Tony for his leadership at a time of crisis for the health service. His calmness and resilience, while under considerable pressure, shone through as we coped with two intense waves of the virus”. 

Sir David Sloman, the Regional Director for NHS in London, has been reflecting on the pivotal role NHS CEOs have played in the capital during the pandemic. Sir David said: “I would like to thank Tony for his commitment and in particular for his work leading the acute collaborative in north east London. I wish him all the best and every success for the future.”