The community health trust serving Brighton and Hove has appointed a new chairman, it said today (Friday 12 May).
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, which has its head office at Brighton General Hospital, in Elm Grove, has chosen Peter Horn, 61, to replace Sue Sjuve, also 61.
She left the trust at the end of February to chair the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Mr Horn is due to take up his new post at the start of next month after six years chairing Medway Community Healthcare, a community interest company (CIC), based in Gillingham. Kent.
Sussex Community Foundation Trust said: “He has broad experience of the NHS working in both executive and non-executive roles.”
Mr Horn said: “I am delighted to be taking up the role of chair at the trust. It is an important time for our health service as we approach the 70th anniversary of the NHS next year.
“I am looking forward to working with everyone involved with Sussex Community, to help build on recent successes and to support the continuing effort to provide the best possible care for the people we serve.”
Acting chairman Stephen Lightfoot said: “I’m pleased to confirm Peter Horn as the new trust chair following the decision made by the council of governors.
“Peter will be a fantastic chair for Sussex Community and brings a wide variety of experience to the role. We look forward to welcoming him to the trust in June.”
The trust is the main provider of NHS community health services Brighton and Hove, West Sussex and the High Weald, Lewes and Havens area of East Sussex.
Trust staff provide a wide range of medical, nursing and therapeutic care to over 9,000 people a day including adults and children.
They work to help people plan, manage and adapt to changes in their health, to keep them in their own homes for longer, to prevent avoidable admissions to hospital and to minimise hospital stay.
When she announced her departure, Sue Sjuve said: “It has been a privilege to serve as chair of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust for the past five years.
“As chair I have worked with some exceptional and dedicated professionals and have seen them provide care to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities with skill, dedication and compassion.
“The entire team at the trust are unstinting in their efforts to deliver our vision of excellent care at the heart of the community.
“I feel now is the right time for me to move. I am leaving the trust in a strong position with an excellent chief executive, a strong leadership team and an experienced and skilful set of non-executive directors.
“This is the right time for the trust to seek a new chair with the vision and energy to take the trust forward on the next stage of its evolution.
“I am looking forward to my new challenge but can still say being chair at SCFT is the best job I have ever had.”
She was the longest-serving non-executive director and second longest-serving member of the board.
Acting chairman Stephen Lightfoot, 55, joined the board as a non-executive director and deputy chairman in September 2013.
Mr Lightfoot has extensive commercial experience and is also a non-executive director of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Before joining the trust, he had a 30-year career in the pharmaceutical industry which included senior management roles in British and global businesses.
Mr Lightfoot said in February: “On behalf of the whole board I would like to thank Sue for her significant contribution to Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust over the last five years.
“She has been a great ambassador for the trust, supporting us through our authorisation as a foundation trust, strengthening our board and leading the development of the council of governors.
“We wish Sue every success in her new position.”
Last month Tony Kildare, 56, became chairman of Medway Community Healthcare after stepping down as chairman of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.
