North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is proud to welcome the appointment of its current Chief Executive, Peter Axon, as the Interim CEO of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System.
Peter’s appointment comes on the back of his highly successful tenure since March 2019 as Combined’s Chief Executive, leading the Trust’s continuing journey of improvement to be Outstanding in all we do and how we do it, building on its achievement as 1 of only 2 specialist mental health Trusts in the NHS to be awarded an overall Outstanding rating by the Care Quality Commission – the highest rating it can award.
Under Peter’s leadership, the Trust has also played a particularly strong role at system-wide level in leading partnership-working, place-based care, service transformation and diversity and inclusion. All of which has been achieved against a backdrop of continuing to deliver outstanding financial performance, with a 22ndconsecutive year of delivering financial balance coupled with historic levels of capital investment in acute and community mental health, learning disability and substance misuse services as well as unique involvement in developing Primary Care.
The Trust considers the appointment of Peter to lead the ICS to be in part a recognition of Combined’s strong support for system-wide working alongside the Trust’s own achievements, values and success. It is also a reflection on the positive contribution made by a range of its senior management to the development of the ICS vision.
The Trust is putting in place robust arrangements which will also support the further development of its own Executive Team, provide continuity of leadership and ensure the Trust maintains momentum and achievement in its relentless improvement journey.
As the first step in this process, the Trust’s Deputy Chief Executive and Medical Director, Dr. Buki Adeyemo, will be taking up the role of Interim Chief Executive of North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust. Further details of changes to the Executive Team, including the appointment of a new Executive Director of Operations and new Interim Deputy Chief Executives, will be made in due course.
The Trust Chair David Rogers said today:
“We are absolutely delighted for Peter, Whilst, naturally, we will miss encountering him in his current day-to day role in the Trust, it will be great to be able to continue working with him and supporting him as a key local system partner. In that respect, not only is Peter’s appointment a recognition of his considerable abilities, but also a natural progression in the Trust’s long held strategy to blend specialist mental health care with an increasing commitment to the well-being and mental health of the whole population we serve.
“We also would like to congratulate Buki on her new role. As the longest serving current member of our Executive Team and someone known and respected by all who work at Combined, we know all of our people will look forward with pleasure to supporting her, and being supported by her, in her new role.