Andy shares this latest news from Isle of Wight NHS Trust. Ed
NHS Improvement (NHSI) has confirmed the appointment of Vaughan Thomas (pictured right) as the new Chair of Isle of Wight NHS Trust. The appointment is with immediate effect and is for two years.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust is the Island’s principal provider of secondary healthcare services including ambulance, community, hospital and mental health and learning disability services. The Trust serves a population of 140,000 with 2.5m visitors per annum on an offshore Island which is only accessible by sea and air. Mr Thomas chaired the Trust Board meeting on Wednesday 4th October.
Vaughan has been a frequent visitor to the Island since 1986 and more recently has bought a home here. Vaughan is a Chartered Accountant with experience as a professional 
advisor, chief executive, and entrepreneur. He has various roles as director, non-executive director and trustee. Vaughan brings a range of valuable skills and experience to the role of Chairman at Isle of Wight NHS Trust. He was previously a Partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and European Chief Executive at CB Richard Ellis. Vaughan has been a Non-Executive Director with the Trust since September 2016.
An exciting and demanding challenge
Speaking about his appointment Mr Thomas said:
“It is a real privilege to serve the Isle of Wight NHS Trust. I look forward to working with Board colleagues and Trust staff in this new role. Together we face an exciting and demanding challenge responding to the Care Quality Commission’s inadequate rating which resulted in the Trust being placed in special measures. Our aim is to get to a good rating as soon as we can.”
Welcoming Vaughan’s appointment Maggie Oldham, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Isle of Wight NHS Trust, said:
“Vaughan has extensive leadership experience which will help the Trust meet the many challenges it faces. As chair of the Trust’s Integrated Improvement Framework (IIF) board Vaughan is already very involved in our improvement programme and familiar with the work we need to do to ensure that services are sustainable for the future and deliver the best possible service for Islanders within the resources we have available.”
Mr Thomas takes over from Eve Richardson OBE (pictured right with Vaughan) who announced her intention to stand down to become the chair of the Island’s independent stakeholder reference group earlier this year.
Two year appointment
The appointment has been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice including open advertising of the position. Mr Thomas’ appointment runs for two years from 2nd October 2017 to 1st October 2019.
All non-executive appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees political activity (if any declared) to be made public. Mr Thomas has declared no political activity.
