Caroline Donovan has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk’s mental health trust.
She had been doing the job on an interim basis since November 2023.
A nurse by background, she previously worked as Chief Executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and learning disability provider, where she spearheaded an inclusive and service user-centred approach and oversaw improvements in quality across the Trust.
Before this, Caroline (pictured left) was Chief Executive at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, also a provider of mental health, primary care, social care, learning disability and substance misuse services. During her tenure as Chief Executive, the Trust significantly improved and was rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC.
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Zoë Billingham, Chair, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (pictured right), said: “I am delighted to confirm the substantive appointment of Caroline Donovan as Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).
“Caroline joined our Trust in November 2023 to support our improvement journey. We have made excellent progress under Caroline’s leadership in the last year and were delighted when she decided to apply for the substantive role. We have previously announced that Caroline was staying with us until the summer of 2025, but, following a rigorous recruitment process, I am so pleased to confirm that Caroline will now be joining our Trust as our Chief Executive on a substantive basis.
“This is really excellent news for our staff, partners and service users, carers, families and communities that we serve every day, and for our c5,000 staff. Alongside our Trust Board, Caroline will continue to provide our Trust with the expertise and consistency of leadership that has been much-needed here at NSFT for many years. Caroline has set a clear direction for our Trust, and we have already made many improvements, but we are very clear there is much more for us to deliver. I am delighted that Caroline will now oversee this continuing journey of transformation.”
Chief Executive Caroline Donovan said: “I am absolutely delighted to accept the substantive CEO role for NSFT. I feel privileged to work alongside so many talented staff and partners. I am highly committed to continuing our improvement journey working with our staff, service users, carers and partners to design and deliver high quality services for the communities of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is vital that service users, carers, families and the wider community are at the heart of our improvement plans, and we are acting on what they tell us. We are making good progress and are building the foundations for sustainable improvement. I am very excited about continuing to lead NSFT, ensuring the people who use our services, and our staff are at the very heart of everything we do.”
Caroline continued: “Building trust and maintaining humility is essential for us, recognising we are on a journey of improvement, and there is still so much more to be done. We are building a strong and capable leadership team across our executive and locality teams, so that we can continue to deliver safer, kinder and better services for the future. I am really looking forward to continuing to work with all our teams, and with our local partners, to improve mental health services for everyone across Norfolk and Suffolk.”
