Ben Richards

Ben joined the Trust in March 2022, having previously worked in a variety of roles in NHS organisations across England and has a broad range of operational experience across a number of clinical fields since he joined the NHS in 2004.

Ben also acts as the Trust’s Accountable Emergency Officer and, furthermore, as the Senior Responsible Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System.

Ben holds a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Leadership, issued jointly from the University of Birmingham and the University of Manchester, in addition to holding Fellowships in a number of learned societies, including the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal Society of Public Health and the Royal Society of Arts.

Ben is a Chartered Manager and Chartered Fellow with the Chartered Management Institute, the highest status that can be achieved in the management and leadership profession and is a qualified Executive Coach and Mentor. The senior operational team at Combined featured as a case study for the Chartered Management Institute as recognition of the professionalism of its managers.

Ben is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care with The Open University researching the impact of staff redeployment on both staff, teams and wider service delivery, aiming to improve how services respond both effectively and with compassion in the future.