Combined Healthcare is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Dennis Okolo as its Interim Medical Director
Dr Okolo has been with North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust for over 20 years, having trained in and around the Staffordshire area before moving to Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Trust for his first consultant post.
He has been a consultant in General Adult Psychiatry in the Trust since 2007. More recently he has been Clinical Director for the Stoke Community Directorate and Associate Medical Director.
He holds 2 Masters Degrees in Psychiatry and Business Administration and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
In addition, Dennis has a passion for Medical Education and has been the lead for coordinating all Undergraduate psychiatry teaching and placements at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare for over 8 years. He is currently one of the Hospital Deans at Keele University Medical School and Honorary Senior Lecturer.
His clinical interests are in assessments and treatment of bipolar disorder which was the subject of his Master’s thesis and Attention deficit Hyperactivity disorder.
You can watch Dr Okolo’s video message to staff on his appointment as Interim Medical Director below:
“Hello, it’s Dennis here.
Having recently accepted the role of interim Medical Director, I’m pleased and excited to have been given this opportunity to continue to promote the values of North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust – albeit in a different role within the organisation.
My journey within the Trust has been a relatively long one, dating back to as early as 1998, when I had my first senior house officer post as they were called in those days at the then Ashlands Centre.
Over the years, the Trust has continued to innovate and has made tremendous progress over the years, and we overwhelmingly owe this achievement to the dedication of our wonderful employees and their unwavering motivation to continue to do the best they can to provide the best care possible for every patient at every contact that they have.
Whilst the Trust has been rated Outstanding, we recognise and appreciate that we have made great strides, as well as noting that our work is not done by any means, especially as we continue on the journey to make North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare not only a key desirable place to come to work, but also in so doing provide the best mental health treatment and support possible for patients and their families.
Finally, as I joined the Board on an interim basis, this gives me great pleasure to continue to provide key medical leadership and to work tirelessly to support the work of the Board in delivering even better results for the Trust going forward.
Thank you very much.”