Mike Bell set to be new Trust Chair
We are delighted to announce the forthcoming appointment of Mike Bell to the role of Chair at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.
Mike Bell has more than 25 years of experience in the NHS, including the role of Chair at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, which he will continue in as a dual role.
In this role and at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, where he also held the role of Chair, Mike has helped to shape hospital and community services to deliver higher quality care and helped lead reforms to look after the health and care of local communities.
Mike Bell said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and I am delighted to be joining in the team at Lewisham and Greenwich. I’m honoured to have the chance to continue improvements in health and care on both sides of south London.
“The NHS is going through radical changes, after what has been a tempestuous few years for everyone since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The response from NHS workers, on and off the frontline, has been both humbling and phenomenal throughout this period. I could not be prouder to be the Chair of two such fantastic trusts that have been at the very forefront of our COVID response, but also our continued recovery.
“I have a particular interest in health inequalities, and I will look to build on the great work already in progress at Lewisham and Greenwich to tackle these unfair deficits in healthcare outcomes.
“Together we can deliver not only expert clinical care but also improvements in health and wellbeing for local people and more sustainable services across this great region of the capital.”
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Val Davison, outgoing Chair at the Trust. It is clear that she has been one of the central figures in the positive journey that Lewisham and Greenwich have been on over the last few years. It is my hope that I can continue her legacy of improvements to both patient care and to the experience of our talented workforce. My sincere thanks to you Val.”
Over the past nine years since joining Croydon Health Services, Mike has helped lead them out of financial special measures and has held the Trust Board to account to deliver continued improvements in the quality and access to care in and out of hospital.
Outside of his work directly with trusts, Mike is also the director of a research and consultancy company, MBARC Ltd, which works with central and local government and the NHS on issues relating to social exclusion, specialising in working with marginalised communities.
Mike is also currently the Chair of the NHS London Chairs group, and the Non-Executive Directors Anchor Network.
On behalf of the whole Trust, we extend the warmest of welcomes to our new Chair. Mike will begin his chairship at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust on 25 July 2022.