The Trust Board
The Trust Board is responsible for the running of our Trust, setting its strategy and overseeing the way it operates. The Board has a Chairman and five Non-Executive Directors, who are appointed by the NHS Appointments Commission and work part time. It also has five Executive Directors, who are full time employees of the Trust. A number of other Directors also sit with the Board but do not have voting rights.
To view Trust Board papers, click here.
To view Trust Board dates and pre-board dates, click here.
Julia Bridgewater - Chief Executive
Julia Bridgewater has been Chief Executive at UHNS since 2007. Prior to this she steered the hospital through official turnaround and successfully signed off the major PFI project for a single site hospital.
Julia joined the NHS as a management trainee in 1984 and has held many positions mainly in the acute sector. She was born and educated locally and has thorough knowledge of the health needs of the local population. She has led the transformational "Fit for the Future” project delivering care closer to home.
Julia has a long term interest in local education and training and the hospital has developed the Health Care Careers and Skills Academy along with local colleges and schools to provide educational opportunities for all sectors of the population. Julia is married with three children.
John Maddison - Director of Finance
Awaiting profile
Robert Courteney-Harris - Medical Director
Robert Courteney-Harris is Medical Director of University Hospital of North Staffordshire. He continues to practice as an ENT Surgeon with a special interest in paediatric ENT having trained mainly in London and East Anglia. Robert was appointed to the Trust in 1996. Whilst at the Trust he has undertaken the roles of Clinical Director for Specialist Surgery and Accident and Emergency prior to becoming Medical Director in October 2007 he was the Deputy Medical Director.
Robert is married with 4 children, lives locally and still plays cricket for Stone S.P. and Staffordshire Gents Cricket Club.
Elizabeth Rix - Chief Nurse
Elizabeth (Liz) Rix trained at the West Glamorgan School of Nursing, and following a variety of nursing roles in ITU, Surgery, and as a clinical nurse specialist, undertook the NHS Management Training Scheme. On completing this, Liz held a variety of senior roles within the NHS in Wales. In 2006 Liz attained her first Director of Nursing role in Swansea NHS Trust.
Liz comes to UHNS with a wealth of acute senior nurse experience in large hospitals, and joins us direct from her post as director of patient safety at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust, the largest in Wales. Liz is committed to ensuring that patient experience is as good as it can possibly be, and looks forward to being a part of the future of UHNS. She is married with two children.
Margot Johnson - Director of Human Resources
Margot has worked in the NHS for many years. Her first few were spent in junior roles in finance; the subsequent have been building a career in Human Resources. Margot has gained a wealth of experience through both generalist and specialist roles eg: Workforce Planning, Employment Relations, Organisational Development and Medical Personnel, with a 12 month interlude in 'Business Management'.
Andrew Underwood - Director of Corporate Services / Fit For The Future Project Director
Andrew is the Director of Corporate Services for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and Project Director for the Fit for the Future project. This includes major PFI capital developments for the UHNS and for Stoke on Trent PCT. He has led the PFI project since the project's inception in 1999. He is also head of the UHNS Corporate Services Division and manages the UHNS capital programme. He has operated at Board level in the NHS since 1985.
A Chartered Surveyor by profession he is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors [FRICS] and has masters degrees in business administration and law. He is also a member of the Chartered Management Institute [MCMI].
Vanessa Gardener - Chief Operating Officer
Vanessa joined the Trust in 1995 after completing an undergraduate degree in Physiology and a postgraduate Masters in Healthcare Policy and Management. Having undertaken a range of key operational roles across the Trust, Vanessa took up post as the Deputy Director of Operations in 2005.
In 2006 Vanessa became the Acting Director of Operations for 15 months, before returning to her substantive role in September 2009 as Associate Director of Performance and Transformation. Since December 2008 she has been the Acting Chief Operating Officer (retaining performance and transformation in her portfolio), and in the later part of 2009 took up the post of Chief Operating Officer permanently.