Welcome Peter and Paresh – new Non-Executive Directors | News

Royal Surrey has welcomed two new Non-Executive Directors, Peter Holland and Paresh Patel. They succeed Howard Webber and Andrew Prince, who together served the trust for over 18 years. 

Both Paresh and Peter bring extensive leadership experience focused on improving healthcare systems and expanding access to high-quality care.

Paresh Patel has more than 20 years of experience across the NHS, private healthcare, and international health systems. He is currently Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, overseeing strategy, finances, performance; and supporting initiatives in digital transformation, long-term service planning, and equality and inclusion.

Alongside his NHS work, Paresh has held senior roles in private healthcare, including as CEO of OCL Vision, and Director of Strategy and Business Growth at Ramsay Health Care UK, where he developed new services, expanded facilities, and introduced digital systems to improve patient care. 

Earlier in his career, he helped establish and expand specialist eye hospitals internationally, improving access to high-quality ophthalmology services.

Paresh said: "Although I have experience as a Non-Executive Director at East Sussex, this role brings new challenges for a different community with unique health needs. I was drawn to Royal Surrey by the exciting opportunities we have to deliver real improvements for patients through exploring our partnerships with Ashford and St Peter’s and the University of Surrey among others.”

Peter Holland has spent his career enhancing healthcare, shaping international development, and making a lasting impact in public service. He began his career in the NHS as a management trainee and then spent ten years developing primary care services and community services in south London, including services for people experiencing homelessness and an interpretation service for non-English speakers. During this time, he received a Harkness Fellowship to study healthcare systems in the United States. He worked on international health programmes with the World Bank in Russia and Aga Khan Health Services in Uganda, strengthening primary care and sustainable health systems.

In 1999, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He held various senior UK government roles, including leading the international response to drug trafficking in Afghanistan and strategy and international policy roles at HM Revenue & Customs and the Intellectual Property Office.

More recently, Peter has focused on health and social impact. After senior roles at RNIB and OPM Group, he became Chief Executive of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness in 2018, raising global awareness of eye health, supporting the first UN resolution on vision, and building partnerships to deliver eye care to the more than a billion people worldwide who don't have access.

Peter said: "I am honoured to be appointed as a Non-Executive Director at Royal Surrey. I look forward to working with the leadership team on the trust’s exciting plans, from the group model partnership to the opening of the Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre. This is a very challenging but also an exciting time for the NHS and I look forward to seeing how technology will shape healthcare and make it more accessible for those who need it.”