Our Board
Professor Kath McCourt CBE, Non Executive Director and Interim Chair
Kath joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in December 2015 and has had an extensive career as a nurse, midwife and educationalist in the UK and overseas.
Kath was formerly a Pro-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Science at Northumbria University.
During her career Kath has been nominated, elected and represented her employer and the nursing profession in a variety of regional, national and international settings.
She has significant Board level experience through chairing committees and groups and has been an advisory consultant to a number of overseas governments and organisations including the World Health Organisation and is presently the President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation.
Kath is an Honorary Colonel, 201 Field Hospital – Newcastle upon Tyne, Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and received the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2012 for services to nursing.
Ms Gillian Baker, Non Executive Director and Chair of Newcastle Hospitals’ Charity Committee
Gillian joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2019. She has over 30 years’ experience working in the charity, health and local authority sectors specialising in children’s social care, criminal justice and community development.
The ‘thread’ that runs through her career, is that of reducing inequalities and in improving outcomes for people and communities.
In the course of her career she has worked in a women’s refuge, in a number of community projects in the west end of Newcastle and in Scotland, as well as leading on a range of regional and national strategies for young offenders. She has also successfully set up and run a local charity.
Gillian is now Director of Communities at Lloyds Bank Foundation – an independent charitable trust which supports small charities across England and Wales through grant funding, capacity building and working to influence and shape their future. This involves working across all sectors, to ensure those small community based organisations remain at the forefront of dealing with a range of difficult issues, such as homelessness or drug and alcohol dependency.
Gillian has a Masters in social research, is a Churchill Fellow and a Trustee of the Community Foundation in Tyne and Wear. She has previously served as a Non Executive Director with North East Ambulance Service, as well as being a school governor.
Mrs Liz Bromley, Non Executive Director
Liz joins the Trust as a Non-Executive Director in June 2022. She is Chief Executive Officer of NCG (formerly Newcastle College Group), one of the UK’s largest national Further Education (FE) College Groups, and the only one with a national footprint. NCG has two colleges in Newcastle – Newcastle College and Newcastle Sixth Form, and one in Carlisle; four other colleges are in the North West, the Midlands and London.
Liz started a career in Higher Education with the Open University where she was Associate Dean in the Faculty of Health and Care, and led the development of a brand new social work degree, following the Victoria Climbie review. The Faculty also introduced the first distance learning, practice based pre-registration Nursing Programme in the early 2000s. After more than 20 years working in Universities, Liz joined the FE sector and moved to the North East in 2019.
Throughout her career, Liz has led on a number of significant change programmes and service restructures, and has a strong background in leadership and other professional development. She is a passionate advocate of education as the force behind genuine social mobility and cultural capital.
As Chief Executive of NCG, Liz is responsible for delivering the strategy, which is underpinned by a mission to enable social mobility and economic prosperity through exceptional education. NCG’s vision is closely aligned to that of the Newcastle Hospitals, striving to be recognised for local impact, national influence and reach.
Liz is also a non executive member of the Board of English Heritage, and has a number of board roles relating to her NCG work. Married with four adult children and a stepson, three grandchildren with two more due in autumn 2022, Liz enjoys reading and walking in the stunning North East countryside.
Mrs Jackie Bilcliff, Chief Finance Officer
Jackie Bilcliff is our Chief Finance Officer and has worked for the Trust since September 2022.
Jackie was previously Group Director of Finance and Digital at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust and worked for the Trust since 2014. She was also Deputy Chief Executive and had been in this post since January 2022. Jackie qualified in 1996 with CIPFA and has held several positions within the private, health, and criminal justice sectors.
Mr Graeme Chapman, Non Executive Director and Chair of the Quality Committee
Graeme is a Non-Executive Director with over 30 years experience delivering business transformation across a number of industries including Healthcare, Lifesciences, Central Government, Retail Banking, Manufacturing and Utilities.
Graeme has been employed at Microsoft for the past 20 years, spending the last 10 years working in Health and Life Sciences. His current role is Industry Executive (Health and Life Sciences) the remit of which is to plan and deliver on a strategy of digital transformation for the Healthcare and Lifesciences eco system.
Graeme holds a Masters degree in Engineering from Northumbria University and has post graduate qualifications in Management and Marketing.
Having being born, educated and worked in Newcastle, Graeme has a strong passion for the region and the potential for it to further grow and develop.
Ms Maurya Cushlow, Executive Chief Nurse (Outgoing)
Maurya Cushlow was appointed as Executive Chief Nurse of Newcastle Hospitals in January 2019, and is proud to lead the organisation’s 7,000 nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, which collectively make up the Trust’s largest professional group.
Since qualifying as a staff nurse in Sunderland over 30 years ago, she has enjoyed a varied and successful career across the full spectrum of health care sectors – acute, community, and commissioning where she worked as an Accountable Officer before returning to her roots as a nurse.
Maurya has particularly enjoyed working in partnership across the boundaries of both health and social care, gaining significant, strategic executive board level experience along the way.
Committed to improving the health and the quality of care for patients, Maurya is passionate about ensuring the long term sustainability of health care and in particular driving quality improvement and service transformation, leading the Trust’s ‘Newcastle Improvement’ team.
A proud nursing professional, Maurya is an unwavering advocate for ensuring the development of our nurses, midwives and allied health professionals through strong, clear leadership and the creation of the right conditions to empower satisfied and supported staff to deliver high quality, safe patient care.
Maurya is Chair of the Newcastle Health Innovation Partners’ People and Culture Group, Chair of the Cumbria North East Directors of Nursing and a member of The Health Foundation’s Q Community and has an MBA as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Business and Executive Coaching.
Responsibilities:
As Executive Chief Nurse, Maurya is responsible for:
- Providing nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals leadership to deliver and maintain the highest standard of clinical care and the best experience for those who use our services.
- Working in partnership to deliver safe and effective care.
Ms Steph Edusei, Non Executive Director
Steph Edusei became a Non-Executive Director in 2021. Steph is currently Chief Executive of St Oswald’s Hospice, a large specialist hospice for children and adults based in Newcastle.
Steph started her career at the Freeman Hospital in 1996 and joined the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme in 2001 subsequently holding a number of middle and senior management roles across in local hospital Trusts including at Newcastle Hospitals, the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and in commissioning organisations. She helped set up Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group before leaving the NHS to run Healthwatch Newcastle and Healthwatch Gateshead alongside her management consultancy and leadership coaching business.
She is a strong supporter of her local community having been a leader with Girlguiding UK for over 30 years and a school governor, and is a trustee with The Angelou Centre, a black-led women’s charity based in Newcastle which offers training, counselling and refugee support. She has a passion for involving the public and patients in healthcare and is a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion. Steph speaks publicly on racism and discrimination, and provides coaching and mentoring support to people from minoritised communities.
Mr Jonathan Jowett, Non Executive Director, Senior Independent Director, and Chair of the People Committee
Jonathan joined as Non-Executive Director in November 2016. His executive role is Company Secretary and General Counsel at Greggs plc, where he is a member of the Operating Board, reporting to the Chief Executive.
He is a lawyer by profession and has spent most of his career working in international manufacturing companies across a variety of sectors including medical product and consumer healthcare.
Jonathan’s responsibilities at Greggs include legal and government affairs, risk management and insurances, internal audit, food safety, health and safety, sustainability and pensions’ administration.
He is Secretary to the PLC board and its committees, and is responsible for governance and corporate policies, and its efficient and effective administration.
He is also Chair of the Percy Hedley Foundation, which provides educational and care services to children, young people and adults with cerebral palsy, communication and sensory impairments and complex learning, social care and therapeutic needs.
Jonathan gained national recognition from his peers in the 2012 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers awards for his contribution to developing the law on VAT on hot food. In his spare time, he is an advisor to the Board of Darlington Football Club.
Mr Bill MacLeod, Non Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee
Bill is a Non Executive Director at Newcastle Hospitals and Chair of the Audit Committee. He is a Chartered Accountant and was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for 25 years specialising in Audit.
He held a number of senior positions with the firm including Senior Partner of the Newcastle office. On a national basis, he served on PricewaterhouseCoopers UK’s Supervisory Board, chaired the firm’s own Audit and Risk Committee and his final role was as the firm’s Ethics Partner with oversight of professional ethics and conduct.
Bill has chaired the International Advisory Board at Newcastle University Business School since 2015 and joined the Council of Newcastle University in 2020. He is also a director of Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, chairing its Finance Group, as well as a member of the Ethics Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Dr Vicky McFarlane Reid, Executive Director for Enterprise and Business Development
Vicky joined the Trust in September 2019 as the Executive Director for Enterprise and Business Development. She is responsible for the development of the Trust’s Commercial Enterprise Unit which seeks to maximise the organisation’s ability to deliver non-NHS revenues which can be reinvested back into patient care.
Business planning, strategy management, service development, performance and contracting are also within her remit, and she is the executive sponsor for sustainable healthcare and climate change.
Vicky has a PhD in Molecular Ecology and a BSc in Biology and before joining the Trust, and spent 17 years working for Leica Biosystems (a Danaher company) in the field of Cancer Diagnostics as the Director for Research and Development.
Christine Smith, Non Executive Director and Chair of the Finance Committee
Christine is a Non-Executive Director with over 20 years experience delivering Board and Senior leadership roles in Financial and Commercial functions across a number of industries including Retail, Financial Services – Retail Banking, Manufacturing, Education and B2B Services. An experienced leader in corporate governance through Committee Chair and Membership accountabilities in Audit, Risk, Conduct and Remuneration.
Graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University in 1994 with a bachelors degree in Accountancy, proceeding to become a qualified accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. An associate member for over 25 years.
Christine has a passion for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and is a strong advocate for social mobility, equality, diversity and inclusion. An Alumni member of The Forward Institute – a not for profit organisation incorporating public, private and third sector leaders and organisations serious about delivering responsible leadership in today’s society. An SME and Key Speaker on Wellbeing, Domestic/Financial Abuse, Early Careers Opportunities, Racism and Discrimination.
Christine spends much of her personal time, volunteering, travelling and participating in sporting and leisure activities. An active sprint triathlete, who has a passion for scuba diving and live music.
Mr Andy Welch OBE, Medical Director/Deputy Chief Executive
Andy has been Medical Director since April 2013 having previously been Associate Medical Director and Cancer Lead. He currently chairs the Northern Cancer Alliance and continues to be actively involved clinically as a Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon.
Andy advises on clinical and strategic issues and is the Trust’s Responsible Officer and Caldicott Guardian. His team includes eight Associate Medical Directors and six Corporate Clinical Directors, whose extensive portfolios include:
- quality and patient safety;
- infection prevention and control;
- clinical governance, risk, effectiveness and audit;
- clinical research and innovation;
- new procedures and drugs;
- medical staff health and wellbeing, performance, education and training;
He is responsible for the efficient use of resources – theatre efficiency, patient flow, job planning, remuneration, working patterns, service sustainability and improvement.
The Directors of Clinical Risk and Pharmacy report directly to the Medical Director and there are 21 Clinical Directors who report jointly to the Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer, Martin Wilson.
Mr Martin Wilson, Chief Operating Officer
Martin’s role as Chief Operating Officer is to support the thousands of hard working staff who work within our hospitals and community services in delivering great care to patients and improving how we work.
He works closely with the Medical Director, Executive Chief Nurse and other directors, and leads and oversees the teams of Clinical Directors and Directorate Managers who together lead each of the Trust’s 16 clinical directorates.
Martin is responsible for ensuring that the Trust delivers the highest possible standards of performance, and leads our partnership working with Newcastle City Council around integrated health and care services.
Martin joined Newcastle Hospitals in October 2018 from national roles at the Department of Health and Social Care, and at NHS England and NHS Improvement, where he was the Director of Strategy / Deputy National Director responsible for emergency and elective care across England.
Martin is a registered nurse and a graduate of the NHS Management Training Scheme. Having grown up and lived most of his life in Newcastle, he worked for a number of years at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust before taking on a number of director roles within the former North East Strategic Health Authority, St George’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and McKinsey & Company.
Professor David Burn, Associate Non Executive Director
David was appointed as Associate Non-Executive Director in July 2017. He is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University and a Professor of Movement Disorders Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist for Newcastle Hospitals.
His first degree was at Oxford (Physiological Sciences), returning to his native North East for clinical training and early medical jobs, including neurology. After further neurology training and undertaking research in London (National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square and Hammersmith Hospital), he was appointed as a Consultant Neurologist and Senior Lecturer in Newcastle in 1994.
David has an international reputation for research in dementia associated with Parkinson’s and is a Trustee of Parkinson’s UK.
He is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Emeritus Senior Investigator, chairs both the NIHR Translational Research Collaboration for Dementia and Northern Health Science Alliance, and is Director of the NIHR/ NHS England Improvement Newcastle Health Innovation Partners Academic Health Science Centre.
Pam Smith, Associate Non Executive Director
Pam joined the Trust as an Associate Non-Executive Director in January 2022 following her appointment to Newcastle City Council as Chief Executive, having been Chief Executive at Stockport Council since 2017 where she was also Greater Manchester’s Lead Chief Executive for ‘Age Friendly Greater Manchester’, and she continues to be the Solace lead spokesperson for Housing.
Pam was previously Chief Executive at Burnley Council and has also worked for the Audit Commission.
Pam joined Newcastle City Council at a time of great change and opportunity as the city sought to emerge strongly from the pandemic.
Pam is passionate about people, communities and neighbourhoods and is eager to work with residents and colleagues from across the region to achieve the best outcomes for the people of Newcastle; leveraging the opportunities that levelling up and devolution offer to secure outstanding schools, excellent jobs and high-quality homes to make Newcastle one of the best places in the world to grow up, work and live