Come March, there will be a new woman in charge of the Gateshead Health NHS Trust - which looks after the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
After the retirement of current chief executive Yvonne Ormston, the new boss will be Trudie Davies, who is moving to the region having previously worked as deputy chief executive of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. She originally trained as a nurse before moving into NHS management.
Ms Davies will take on the job against a tumultuous backdrop for the NHS. At the time of writing, strikes from nursing staff set to take place over January, while junior doctors could follow their nursing colleagues in voting in favour of industrial action in the New Year.
Ms Davies - who has also previously worked in Leeds and Leicester - said she was "thrilled" to continue her NHS journey in Gateshead. She said: "I have a strong dedication to improving patient care and look forward to working with staff, patients and partners of the region to continue providing excellent care for those in need."
The new chief executive said she would prioritise continuing the partnership working the trust has moved towards, and added: "I will continue to do this through developing trusted relationships, being inclusive and respectful of others and ensuring that as a good partner, the standard of care delivered within the hospital and within Gateshead’s community remain high."
Alison Marshall, who chairs the hospital trust's board, said: "We are excited to have Trudie joining us as our new Chief Executive. We undertook a rigorous selection process, and throughout Trudie demonstrated her inspiring leadership style, her integrity and authenticity.
"She has a vast amount of experience and expertise, having devoted the last 30 years to the NHS, and I’m sure she will help us to achieve our strategic aims based around our patients, people and partners."
Ms Ormston has been chief executive at the Trust, which manages the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, since 2019, and before that held the same role at the North East Ambulance Service for four years. She announced she would be retiring at the end of August this year.
Added to the challenges of leading a hospital trust through the pandemic in she also spent 2021 with a breast cancer diagnosis, and worked through months of treatment.
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