Today’s (Thursday 30 September) Annual General Meeting (AGM) saw us introduce our new Chief Executive, Matthew Trainer, and say goodbye to Chair, Mike Bell who has covered the role of Chair in common for us and Croydon Health Services NHS Trust since December 2020.

Mike reflected on the previous year, one which saw the NHS face its biggest challenge in history. He praised staff for their extraordinary work, both during the peaks of the pandemic and in supporting our recovery, as well as focusing on the importance of partnership working and addressing inequalities, which he is incredibly passionate about.

It was then a look at our financial accounts for 2020/21 before moving on to hear from executive colleagues about our achievements and our future ambitions, including our commitment to staff wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Matthew then shared our approach and commitment to do all we can to reduce the time our patients are waiting for treatment, showcasing some of our recent achievements including our successful ‘super clinics’ to tackle our waiting list backlogs.

He also took the opportunity to officially thank Mike for all he has done for our Trust: “Mike’s enthusiasm about the strengths of our Trust and his optimism about our future were a big factor in my wanting to join the team, and I want to thank him for that. Mike took a lead in building our collaboration with Barts Health, and he has put a lot of time into maintaining and strengthening our local authority relationships and broader partnership working. This has given us a strong platform on which to build our recovery from Covid-19. I wish him all the best for the future.”

Mike, who continues in his post as Chair at Croydon, said: “Today marks my final day at the Trust and in leaving I would like to mark the progress we have made over the past year. It’s certainly been eventful!

“Together we have met the challenges of Covid-19, restarted our planned care, and reset the Trust’s strategic direction with a focus on place in each of our boroughs and a new collaboration with Barts Health to make sure the people of east London get the very best care.

“With our partners we have reset our ambitions to make a real and lasting impact on tackling health inequalities, and a new leadership commitment to the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda to ensure we are a great place to work for all our staff, supporting everyone to meet their full potential.

“I leave with confidence that the Trust faces a brighter future and am proud of recruiting the first permanent chief executive for many years. I know Matthew will work tirelessly to provide the stability and leadership that will allow the organisation to thrive. Along with the incoming chair Jacqui Smith, Matthew and his team will work with staff and partners to deliver the improvements that our communities deserve.

“Finally, I’m proud of how far we’ve come over the past year and know that this is only possible by working together – so thank you to all the colleagues I have worked with both within the Trust, and across our boroughs and north east London."

The Right Honourable Jacqui Smith joins us as chair in common with Barts Health tomorrow (Friday 1 October).