New CEO for Whittington Health NHS Trust

Following the news last year that Siobhan Harrington is moving on to a new role in Dorset this spring, Helen Brown has been appointed as the new Chief Executive for Whittington Health NHS Trust.

Helen lived and worked in Haringey for many years, including a short time at Whittington Health. Her 30-year career in the NHS has spanned acute, community and mental health services. She is currently the Deputy Chief Executive at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, where she was also previously the Director of Strategy and Transformation and for a time the Acting Chief Executive.

Helen said:

“I am delighted to be coming back to Whittington Health. Having lived and worked in the area previously, I have always felt a connection to this trust.

“As someone who has championed integration in other organisations, I am really excited about the opportunity to work somewhere that is so far ahead and places such importance on integration and working with partners for the benefit of patients. I look forward to meeting more of the people who make Whittington Health such a great organisation.”

Chair of Whittington Health NHS Trust, Baroness Julia Neuberger, said:

“This is great news for Whittington Health. Helen’s passion for our organisation, vision, local area and model of integrated care made her the ideal candidate. We are very fortunate that in Helen, we will have a new CEO who knows and understands the local area, believes wholeheartedly in our vision of ‘helping people live longer, healthier lives’ and is well placed to lead an organisation which has integration for the benefit of patients at its heart.”

At the same time, we are announcing that Carol Gillen, our Chief Operating Officer for the last six years, will be retiring in the summer.

Carol said:

“I had planned for some time to retire in 2020, but it didn’t feel right to leave at the height of a pandemic. I decided to delay my plans in order to help guide our staff and services through this difficult time. But more and more of our services are coming back and COVID-19 is causing fewer people to become very sick, so I will be retiring in July, incredibly proud of how everyone worked through the pandemic and since to care for and treat local people.”

Our current Chief Executive, Siobhan Harrington, said:

“Carol has made an amazing contribution to Whittington Health in her time here. Our performance over this time has been a testament to her leadership and ability to work in partnership with clinical and nursing leaders. On behalf of everyone at Whittington Health, I would like to thank her for everything she has done, and in particular for putting off her retirement to support us through the pandemic.”

 Work is already under way to recruit a replacement for Michelle Johnson, our Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Allied Health Professionals who announced last year that she will be taking a break from work at the end of June. A process to recruit a new Chief Operating Officer will also begin shortly.

Helen is expected to take up her new role in June.