Chair of hospital trust to step down

Dr Catriona McMahon has been chair of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust since 2020

The chair of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), Dr Catriona McMahon, will step down at the end of June.

Dr McMahon has been in the job since 2020.

Her replacement will take on the role of chair in common, overseeing the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, as well as SaTH.

"I am proud of the progress the trust has made, and now feels the right time for me to hand over to another chair who, with their fresh insights, can drive forward the next phase of the trust’s improvement journey," said Dr McMahon.

The announcement comes at a time of change for the trust, as plans to move planned care to the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) and emergency care to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) gained approval in May.

In the same month, the trust's Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating improved, from "inadequate" to "requires improvement".

“I am leaving SaTH at the beginning of an exciting new era," said Dr McMahon.

"There is more work to do on our improvement journey, and I am confident that I am leaving the trust with a strong, stable leadership team that is determined to deliver excellent care for our patients."

"I am particularly proud of the many positive improvements the trust has delivered in our maternity services since the publication of the first and final independent maternity reviews, and of the ‘good’ rating recognised by the CQC earlier this month," she added.

Louise Barnett, chief executive of SaTH, thanked Dr McMahon for her work.

"Catriona’s enthusiasm and drive for quality improvement, putting patients at the heart of everything we do, has contributed to our improved CQC rating and a more stable organisation for the next chair to take forward.

"We know we have further to go as we enter the next phase of our improvement journey and wish Catriona the very best for the future," she said.