Shared boss appointed for Hull and Northern Lincolnshire NHS trusts

Jonathan Lofthouse will take over from NLAG's Dr Peter Reading and HUTH's Chris Long - who both announced they were leaving earlier this year

Two hospital trusts on opposite sides of the Humber have appointed a shared boss.

In 2022 the boards at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) agreed to move towards a group leadership model.

Jonathan Lofthouse's appointment to the role of joint chief executive was confirmed on Friday.

He will oversee the management of the two organisations.

Mr Lofthouse currently works for the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Before that he was director of improvement at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Commenting on Mr Lofthouse's appointment, Sean Lyons, joint chair of HUTH and NLAG, said: "Jonathan's experience and background make him well-suited to helping tackle some of our most challenging joint issues around flow, elective backlog, patient environments, and the recruitment and retention of staff."

Both NLAG's and HUTH's outgoing chief executives - Dr Peter Reading and Chris Long - announced they would be leaving earlier this year.

"I would like to pay tribute to both [of them] for their leadership and dedication," Mr Lofthouse said.

"As part of my recruitment process I have already enjoyed visits to all five of the group's core sites and met many dedicated staff.

"I see this as the most exciting and fantastic time to be joining and am very much looking forward to moving up to the community."

Mr Lofthouse will take up his post later in the year.

On Thursday, it was announced that NHS England had removed NLAG from its Recovery Support Programme.

The trust, which runs hospitals in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole, said its last Care Quality Commission (CQC) report in December 2022 which graded it as still requiring improvement, had recognised its efforts in improving care.