Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Nerissa Vaughan,
Chief Executive

Nerissa has been the Trust's Chief Executive since October 2011.

Keen to integrate health services, she joined the Trust following the acquisition of Wiltshire Community Services.

She has been working closely with partners in Wiltshire to develop innovative organisational structures that help deliver seamless care.

She joined the NHS as a graduate management trainee in 1991 and has worked mainly in the hospital sector since then, holding a variety of roles including Director of Operations, Director of Planning and CEO.

Charlotte Forsyth,
Medical Director

Charlotte joined the Trust in 2003, became a consultant in 2011 and was appointed Medical Director in 2019.

She oversees the delivery of high quality care for patients in hospital and out in the community.

Charlotte will promote a strong quality improvement programme that will ensure all patients receive the best level of care. 

She is also responsible for Information Governance as the Caldicott Guardian. 

Charlotte has also worked in a range of other front and back door roles.

Jude Gray, Director of Human Resources

Jude became the Trust's Director of Human Resources in July 2019.

Jude is responsible for running the administrative functions of the Trust.

She will oversee the recruitment of staff, manage strategic staffing planning and will serve as a link between the Trust and its employees.

Jude is new to the NHS, with previous experience from years working for the BBC in a variety of HR roles.

She was also the Head of HR for Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service.

Jude was appointed Director of Human Resources for the Trust in 2019.

Julie Marshman,
Chief Nurse

Julie is responsible for the clinical leadership for all nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals and healthcare science staff.

She oversees quality governance and leads on the mental health and safeguarding agendas.

She is passionate about high quality care, excellent patient experience and staff well-being.

Julie has worked in a variety of nursing roles across acute and community in Swindon and Wiltshire, including Clinical Nurse Specialist, Matron, Divisional Director of Nursing and Deputy Chief Nurse.

Karen Johnson,
Director of Finance

Karen is responsible for finance and is committed to ensuring the Trust provides good value for money whilst maintaining good quality services.

She is focusing on ensuring that the Trust has a sustainable financial position and is working closely with divisions to achieve this.

Karen joined the Trust in January 2013 and was appointed to her current position in August 2015.

Kevin McNamara,
Director of Strategy and Community Services

Kevin oversees several key areas including Swindon Community Health Services, which comprises a range of adult community health services in Swindon including Swindon Intermediate Care Centre (SwICC), Community Nursing and therapies.

He also has responsibility for a range of corporate functions including the Trust's internal and external communications services; its charity, Brighter Futures; and its estates and facilities function including overseeing the Private Funding Initiative (PFI).

Kevin has worked for the Trust in a number of roles since joining in November 2009, and his main priority is to realise the potential for integrating community and secondary care services with the wider system.

Jim O'Connell, Chief Operating Officer

Jim joined the Trust as Chief Operating Officer in October 2017.

Following a brief career in the private sector, Jim has over 25 years' NHS experience with over 20 at executive level.

Previous Chief Operating Officer posts have included University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.

Prior to working as Chief Operating Officer, Jim worked as a Workforce Director both at hospital and regional level and was National Programme Director for the implementation of the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) - the world's largest HR and payroll system.

Carole Nicholl,
Director of Governance and Assurance

Carole is responsible for the Trust's assurance framework and corporate governance, including the company secretarial function and legal services. 

Her focus is to ensure that the Board receives assurance on all matters relating to Trust business and that there is an effective Council of Governors working alongside it to represent the views of members and local people.

Carole previously worked in local government leading on democratic services, and joined the Trust in 2011.