Boss appointed for three newly merged hospitals

Prof Lesley Dwyer will be in charge of Norfolk's three acute hospital trusts

A new chief executive for three hospitals has been appointed following their merger.

Prof Lesley Dwyer will take charge of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), The James Paget Hospital, in Gorleston, and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in King's Lynn, from May.

All three are now part of the Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group (NWUHG), created in March.

Prof Dwyer, currently running the Norfolk and Norwich, said staff and patients would benefit from the merger.

Each hospital will still operate under its own name.

Prof Dwyer will guide their strategic direction and oversee the delivery of services.

She will be in charge of almost 20,000 staff.

Further appointments to her leadership team will be made over the coming weeks.

Financial gap

NWUHG faces considerable challenges.

The three hospital trusts are all currently rated as "requires improvement" by watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and are forecasting a combined £53m gap in their finances by 2029/30.

At the NNUH, 500 jobs in finance, communication and administration are currently at risk.

Both the QEH and James Paget are to be rebuilt because of their ageing buildings constructed from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

Work would begin between 2027 and 2028, the government announced earlier this year.

The QEH is also facing considerable financial pressures.

Prof Dwyer took charge of the NNUH in 2024 and before that she was CEO of Central Adelaide Local Health Network, the biggest health authority in South Australia.

Her time as chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust in Kent between 2015 and 2018 saw the organisation move out of the support regime for failing trusts then known as special measures.

It eventually achieved a "Good" rating from the CQC during her time there.

NWUHG chair Mark Friend said: "Lesley has a wealth of experience in healthcare leadership gained in both the UK and Australia and has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing our hospitals and the wider Norfolk and Waveney Healthcare system."