Brent Kilmurray takes up his new role today (20 August) as Chief Executive at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Brent brings considerable Board level experience to the post, working across a range of acute, community health and mental health NHS organisations, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

Commenting on his new role, Brent said:  “I’m delighted to be joining the Trust as the new Chief Executive working with the senior team, our key partners and staff to lead the organisation in its next phase of development, to further develop services for local communities.  There is a lot of great work that’s already happening across the organisation and some really positive partnership working across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, and the West Yorkshire and Harrogate areas, and I’m keen to build on this.

“It’s a privilege to be taking up the role in the NHS’s 70th year as we celebrate the great heritage and values of the NHS, whilst focusing on new ways of developing safe, effective and sustainable services to meet our communities’ needs.  I’m looking forward to working with colleagues, partners and most importantly, people who use our services, as we develop our plans for the next five years.”

Brent has a strong track record of leading service improvements, working with staff, people that are using the services and partners to improve patient care in a number of senior level local authority and NHS roles. These include joint Managing Director at NHS South of Tyne and Wear Community Health Services and Executive Director of Business Strategy and Performance for South Tyneside Foundation Trust, before moving to Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

In his previous role, Brent has worked with staff to develop a culture of continuous improvement across the Trust and developed new mental health services to meet local needs, working across different organisations.

Following Nicola Lees retirement in April 2018, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance, Contracting and Facilities at the Care Trust, Liz Romaniak, has acted as interim Chief Executive.