Three key appointments have been made to the leadership team of Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust (NCUH) and the wider North Cumbria Health and Care System.

Dr Vince Connolly, Ramona Duguid & Mandy Nagra (Pictured left to right) have been appointed as system executive directors following a comprehensive recruitment and selection process.

Dr Vincent (Vince) Connolly will commence his role as system medical director in April 2019.  He has worked in the NHS since 1987 and is currently regional medical director for NHS Improvement North as well as a consultant physician at the James Cook University Hospital.

Ramona Duguid has been appointed as system executive director of strategy. She was previously director of integration for the two trusts and has played a key role in establishing north Cumbria as one of the 14 nationally recognised systems for leading integration.   Ramona has worked in a range of roles across the NHS over the last 20 years, including leading improvements in governance and quality within the acute sector in north Cumbria as part of the special measures process.   Ramona said, “As somebody who was born and lives in Cumbria I am delighted to take up this leadership position and be part of ensuring we continue to improve and develop our health and care services, with our partners for the communities we serve”.

Mandy Nagra has been appointed as system chief operating officer.  Mandy has been interim chief operating officer for CPFT and NCUH since July 2018 and has been instrumental in improving patient flow across the system and embedding the first phase of integrated care communities.

Prior to her interim role Mandy worked in the health and social care system for 24 years in a range of roles including clinical and managerial experience both nationally and regionally.   She brings a vast amount of experience from her work with NHS Improvement and NHS England where a key part of her role was to support north Cumbria.  Mandy said, “We’ve made some great progress with the development of eight integrated care communities over the last 6-12 months which is having a positive impact for our patients.  I’m now looking forward to driving further improvements in the next phase of our work.”

Stephen Eames, Chief Executive and system lead for the North Cumbria Integrated Care System said,

“These are really key appointments to drive forward our ambitions to integrate health and care with a focus on improving the health of our population alongside our communities. The appointments complement the rest of the system executive leadership team to ensure that we can deliver happier healthier communities well into the future.”