Today (7 September) Therese Patten joins Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and will formally take up her chief executive role on 21 September.

Therese joins from Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust where she was deputy chief executive and director of strategy.   She brings extensive NHS Board level experience to the role and has worked across community, mental health, acute and specialist healthcare in the NHS.

Before joining the NHS in 1999, Therese spent nine years working in health development in Zimbabwe, Somaliland and Pakistan.

Therese Patten said: “I’m excited and proud to be joining the Care Trust and will bring all my experience and learning, both nationally and internationally, to the CEO role. I am looking forward to working with colleagues, partners and service users, to further develop health and care services for our population, building on the flexibility and innovation shown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am passionate about inclusion and will continue to be a strong advocate for diversity for our staff, service users and communities. I am grateful to Patrick for stepping up as acting CEO over the past months and I look forward to now working with him and the wider team.”

The Trust’s current interim chief executive, Patrick Scott, will take up the deputy chief executive position in early October, alongside his substantive chief operating officer role.