Royal Surrey County Hospital Appoints New Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Following an extensive recruitment process, the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Chairman.

Peter Dunt will join the Trust on 1^st December and will Chair the Board of Directors and Council of Governors. 

Peter joins following a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, which he ended as a Vice Admiral. Peter now sits on a number of Boards in the private sector as well as the governing bodies of two schools. He has lived in Guildford for 25 years and, on being selected as Chairman he said: 

"It is an immense privilege to be asked to join the team at the Royal Surrey, and I feel deeply honoured.  I intend to do everything in my power to help to provide the best possible care for every patient, and to make sure that everyone who works at the hospital finds reward and satisfaction in providing such an essential service to the community."

Welcoming Peter to the Trust Chief Executive Nick Moberly said: 

“We are delighted that Peter will be joining the Trust and leading our Board and Council of Governors.  All of us at the Trust are very fortunate to have such a high calibre Chairman and we are all looking forward to working very closely with Peter and welcoming him to the Royal Surrey.

“Peter joins us at a very interesting time for the Trust as we take on the challenges and opportunities facing the NHS in the coming years.”

The Trust has also appointed a new Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee Jacqueline Burke.  Jacqueline was previously a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee on the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust Board between 1998 and 2004. 

Jacqui is currently a freelance management consultant specialising in healthcare and higher education.  She has also previously worked with KPMG Peat Marwick.  Jacqui is currently Deputy Chair of the Board of the University of Creative Arts and on the Audit Committee of the British Academy. 

 On her appointment Jacqui Burke said: 

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work again with the hospital and join the board of the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.  The NHS is about to go through some significant changes and I am looking forward to contributing to that.”

Melloney Poole, Acting Chair, will be leaving the Trust on 30th November following eight years on the Board as both a Non Executive Director and Acting Chair: 

Nick Moberly added:

“I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Melloney who has led the Trust through some of the most significant changes in our history.  Melloney led the Board through the Monitor assessment process ahead of our licensing as an NHS Foundation Trust in December last year and has been a tireless supporter of our team of volunteers and has supported numerous fundraising and membership recruitment activities.  There is no doubt that we will all miss having Melloney at the helm and we wish her well in the future.”

The Executive team has also recently reviewed its position on pay this year and volunteered a pay freeze in 2010/11.  This has been accepted by the Board Review and Remuneration Committee, which will continue to review Executive performance and pay annually.

The performance and remuneration of Non-Executives is reviewed by the Council of Governors, with the help of the Nominations Committee.vv