Combined Healthcare is delighted to welcome our new Non-Executive Director, Martin Evans and new Associate Non-Executive Director, Dr Roger Banks.
Martin has worked within the public sector for over 30 years, predominantly within the police service where he served most of his career within Staffordshire. More recently he was an Assistant Chief Constable with West Mercia police and National Police Lead, overseeing fatal and serious collisions.
Martin has many years of experience working at an operational and strategic level with other agencies.
Since retiring from the force, he has been working as a non-executive director in two NHS trusts as well as supporting the Home Office and Department for Transport in seeking new ways of making our roads safer.
Martin has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director for the Trust Board and Chair of the People, Culture and Development Committee. When asked about the role, he said:
“I am delighted to be joining Combined Healthcare and to be taking on this role as I am passionate about ensuring that we do all that we can to support and look after our staff and improve the quality of life of our communities.
“Combined Healthcare is an outstanding Trust and I look forward to working with them to make it even better.”
Dr Roger Banks is a psychiatrist with 35 years of experience working with people with intellectual disabilities, autistic people and their families. From 2020 to 2023 he was National Clinical Director for Learning Disability and Autism in NHS England.
He is a previous Vice-President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and Fellow of the Institute of Psychotherapy and Disability. He was also a President of the European Association for Mental Health in Intellectual Disability and is Vice President of ARFIE (Association for Research and Training on Integration in Europe).
Roger has now been appointed as an Associate Non-Executive Director at Combined Healthcare, while continuing to work as a consultant to WHO (World Health Organisation) Europe’s QualityRights programme. Additionally, Roger is part of a small team providing training and support in reducing restrictive practices in institutional settings in Slovakia, Bulgaria and other European states, and is a trustee and director of the Association for Psychodynamic Practice and Counselling in Organisational Settings.
At Combined Healthcare, Roger will be attending both Quality Committee and People, Culture and Development Committee as an Associate Non-Executive Director and a member of the Trust Board.
Roger said:
“It is with an awareness of, and gratitude for, the richness of experience in my work for the NHS and elsewhere, that I was drawn to this non-executive role.
“Much of my work since 2014 with NHS England has been determined and driven by the impact of inadequacies and inequalities of health and social care across sectors. I am very motivated by this opportunity to work to support a successful organisation – one that can clearly demonstrate high-quality care, that is responsive and forward thinking and that has a commitment to a culture of compassion; not just to patients but importantly to its staff. In so doing, I would hope to support Combined Healthcare to encourage others and enabling wider improvements in the quality of health and social care.
“Being appointed as Associate Non-Executive Director gives me the opportunity to support the organisation in encouraging others and enabling wider improvements in the quality of health and social care. This feels particularly important to me as both sides of my ancestral families are born and bred in the Potteries. I look forward working with the Trust Board and Combined Healthcare going forward.”
Commenting on these appointments, Trust Chair Janet Dawson said:
“We are delighted to have made two excellent additions to our Trust Board with the appointment of Martin Evans and Dr Roger Banks and I congratulate them on their appointments.
“I am confident that they will both make a positive contribution to Combined Healthcare, bringing, as they do, a wealth of experience of the NHS and board governance. I know they will be valuable additions to the Board and support its aims to improve the offering of Combined Healthcare for its staff, service users and stakeholders. I look forward to working with Martin and Roger as they join our Board.”
