Boss of Shropshire's orthopaedic hospital leaving job to lead county's CCG group

Mark Brandreth, who has been chief executive of The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry for five years, has been appointed to lead the development of integrated health services in Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

He will become interim accountable officer for the county's clinical commissioning group.

Alongside that post, he will continue as executive lead for the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin (STW) Integrated Care System (ICS).

He takes up the joint role on August 2, at which point he will step down as the orthopaedic hospital's chief executive.

Work is under way to find a new boss for the hospital but until then, chief nurse Stacey Keegan will serve as acting chief executive.

Mr Brandreth has built a solid reputation for his work at RJAH – taking a trust that was in breach of its licence with its regulator when he took over and rated ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission to one which is now rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for care.

He also played a key role in the NHS response to the coronavirus pandemic, taking some time away from Shropshire last year to lead a number of national projects including the Nightingale Hospital programme.

“I am delighted to have been appointed to this joint role leading the ICS and the CCG here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin,” he said.

“Working closely with colleagues in recent months, I have seen the passion and the desire to do things differently so that we can improve health outcomes and health inequalities for all of our population.

“I look forward to working with our outstanding teams to ensure we deliver world class health and care services for everyone within our borders.

“It has been a great honour to be the chief executive of RJAH and it is not an easy decision to move on. I am very proud of what the staff have achieved over my time here – I am very proud of the care we provide to patients.”

'Experienced and inclusive'

Sir Neil McKay, independent chair of the STW ICS, said Mr Brandreth had been appointed following a rigorous and competitive recruitment process, where he showed himself to be the 'outstanding candidate'.

“He is an experienced and inclusive leader who knows our system inside out – both its strengths and its challenges," he said.

"I am delighted that he will be at the helm to guide us through these critical few months ahead as we move towards the ICS becoming a new statutory body from April 2022.”

Dr John Pepper, chair of the CCG, added: “Over the next few months we have a fantastic opportunity to make significant strides in giving our communities the services they deserve and need.

"I am sure we have the right person at the helm to realise this opportunity.”

Frank Collins, chair of RJAH, has also offered his congratulations to Mr Brandreth.

“He has been at RJAH for over five years now, and, as we all know, has made a huge impact in that time – both at RJAH and, more recently, in the development of our ICS," he said.

"His new role is a natural extension of that work.

“Recruitment of a successor begins immediately, and I am happy to appoint Stacey Keegan in the interim as acting CEO.

"It will be the second time that Stacey has assumed this position, having led the organisation in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic last year while Mark took up a national position to help shape the NHS response.

“She did a terrific job then and I am delighted that she has agreed to take on the acting CEO role again. I know that we are in safe hands.”