(Picture courtesy of Romford Recorder)

London Assembly member Shaun Bailey (pictured) has joined our Trust Board as part of a ground-breaking new scheme to get more black, minority and ethnic (BME) candidates into executive level jobs.

We’re part of the NHS Improvement Next Director initiative to increase diversity at the highest levels across the NHS.

Shaun, who is Afro-Caribbean, has been on our board for the last eight months.

He said: “I think the most important thing is that this isn’t the NHS going, ‘oh we need a black person in there for it to look good’ – I don’t want to be part of anyone’s quota.

“What this scheme is about is giving people with the right skill sets, who haven’t always been given the right opportunities, a chance to get that experience and give something back that the NHS as a whole can benefit from.”

Shaun, 46, has been impressed by what he’s seen in the boardroom so far, praising our Chairman, Joe Fielder.

The father-of-two, from Harold Hill, added: “One of the things that has surprised me about all this is how approachable and down to earth Joe is.”