New CEO announced
Professor Lesley Dwyer has been announced as the new Chief Executive of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
With 30 years healthcare management experience, Prof Dwyer has been the CEO of Central Adelaide Local Health Network over the last five years, the biggest health authority in South Australia with more than 18,000 staff.
Prof Dwyer was Chief Executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust in Kent between 2015 and 2018 where she helped lift the organisation out of quality Special Measures and into a well-led ‘Good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission.
Tom Spink, NNUH Chair, said: “Prof Dwyer is a very experienced leader with an exceptional record in the NHS and Australian healthcare system for putting patients and the community at the centre of all decisions. She has an enviable track record of transforming organisations with a particular focus on culture change and enhanced performance. We look forward to welcoming her to our hospitals and we are delighted that she’s joining us.”
Prof Dwyer, who has a clinical background in nursing and midwifery, said: “After years away from the NHS, during which health systems globally have been challenged like never before, I am delighted to be joining Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals as CEO. I am very proud of the foundation I am leaving at Central Adelaide with the ambition of being world-class in both health care and research, but I am really excited to be returning to the NHS and in particular to the NNUH. While I do not underestimate the challenge, I know that the staff at NNUH strive to provide exceptional care each and every day and I believe that the experience that I bring from both Australia, and of course the UK, will provide the required leadership, direction and support to deliver on what we say we will do and what we need to do.”
“I am so looking forward to being part of this Trust, the wider Norfolk health system and to exploring this beautiful county which I will call home. I’m looking forward to getting started to build on the Trust’s reputation as a leading academic health organisation and regional specialist centre with a focus on research, innovation and delivering excellent care for the local population.”
Nick Hulme, who is also Chief Executive of East Suffolk and North East Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), remains in post as our Interim Chief Executive until Prof Dwyer joins our Trust in early 2024.