The Board of Directors
Peter Horn: Chair
Appointed June 2017 to May 2020.
Responsibilities
- Leads the Board and ensures the team has the necessary balance and diversity of skills, experience and perspective to deliver excellent care at the heart of our community
- Chairs meetings of the Trust Board, Board Nominations & Remuneration Committee and Council of Governors
Previous experience
Peter joined the Trust in June 2017. For the past six years he has chaired a community interest company providing high quality NHS community health services in Medway and North Kent. He has broad experience of the NHS working in both executive and non-executive roles.
Maggie Ioannou: Non-executive director
Appointed December 2013 to December 2020
Responsibilities
- Chairs the Quality Committee.
- Senior Independent Director.
- Whistleblowing N.E.D.
Previous experience
Maggie Ioannou is a nurse by background, and has extensive professional leadership experience in community nursing, including at board level.
In her last post she was director of nursing, quality and safety for Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT). In this role she provided leadership on clinical quality and safety during a time of significant change, spanning the separation of the PCT’s responsibilities to commission as well as providing community services, through to the transition to the new system of clinical commissioning groups, established in April 2013.
Stephen Lightfoot: Non-Executive
Appointed September 2013 to September 2019.
Responsibilities
- Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee and a member of the Board Nominations and Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee.
- Participates in other business activities requiring NED input on an as required basis.
Previous experience
Stephen Lightfoot has been a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair at SCFT since September 2013 and is also a Non-Executive Director of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Stephen has extensive commercial experience. Prior to joining SCFT, he had a 30 year career in the pharmaceutical industry including senior UK and global business management roles.
Janice Needham: Non-executive director
Appointed February 2015 to July 2018
Responsibilities
- Chairs the Charitable Funds committee.
Janice is an independent management consultant working primarily in the not-for-profit sector, with notable clients including the Big Lottery Fund and the Carers Trust. She brings extensive and wide-ranging management and senior level experience gained across government, local council and the voluntary sectors. She has served on the management boards of three national charities, held a director level position with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and worked as a statistician with the Department of Health.
David Parfitt: Non-executive director
Appointed July 2014 to July 2018.
Responsibilities
- Chair of the Audit Committee.
- Leads for the Non-executives on procurement.
Previous experience
David is a chartered accountant with broad commercial experience in complex and customer-orientated organisations undergoing significant change including the Granada Group, the TSB and Lloyds Banking Group, where he became risk, control & and accounting director (retail).
He brings strong experience in human resources, organisational development, strategic and change management and governance.
In addition, he has direct experience of the NHS, first as a non-executive director of Luton primary care trust (PCT) and latterly as a lay member (audit and governance) of NHS Luton clinical commissioning group.
Elizabeth Woodman: Non-executive director
Appointed February 2015 to January 2019
Responsibilities
Member of the finance committee
Previous experience
Elizabeth brings legal knowledge and significant experience of working on strategy at senior and board level in large organisations. Originally Elizabeth qualified as a solicitor in a magic circle City law firm and then moved to a tax practice at an accountancy firm where she requalified as a chartered tax advisor. Elizabeth then became an executive remuneration consultant for a large firm of actuaries specialising in executive incentive schemes and board governance. She has spent much of her working life in professional publishing and online information businesses, bringing to market a number of successful online products aimed at professionals. Elizabeth was vice president accountable for revenue and strategy at Thomson Reuters Legal, UK & Ireland until September 2014.
Elizabeth combines her role at SCT with being chief executive of a well known barristers’ chambers in London that specialises in public law.
Siobhan Melia: Chief executive
Joined in May 2013.
Responsibilities
- Ensures we meet our service, regulatory and statutory obligations.
- Accepts accountability for standards of clinical governance and care.
- Works with the board to develop and promote our vision, values, aims, strategic thinking and objectives through effective dialogue with our staff, partners and other external organisations.
- Provides advice to the board and information to perform all clinical, governance and financial duties.
- Strong performance management, focused on continuous improvement and delivery of services.
- Leads the work programme to prepare the organisation to become and operate as a thriving NHS foundation trust.
- Establishes effective working relationships and communications to ensure staff are motivated, developed, supported and respected.
Previous experience
Siobhan Melia was appointed as Chief Executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust in September 2016. She was previously Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Partnerships and Commercial Development at the organisation.
Siobhan has worked in the NHS for over 18 years in a range of roles. She has a clinical background obtaining her postgraduate degree in podiatry from the University of Brighton and has fulfilled a number of different clinical leadership roles. Subsequently Siobhan undertook senior management and Board level roles at a large NHS community health provider in Berkshire. In 2012 she received her MBA (Health Executive) from Keele University.
She joined Sussex Community in October 2013 from Telefonica UK, where she headed up their Telehealth division.
Mike Jennings: Director of finance and estates
Appointed director of finance and estates October 2016.
Responsibilities
- Financial management, establishing sound financial policies, procedures and reports that effectively manage the business and financial risk.
- Leads and develops high quality finance, estates, facilities, procurement and internal audit functions that improve organisational performance.
- Ensures financial resources are used effectively to maximise quality healthcare whilst meeting financial obligations and ensure income is maximised.
- Ensures our estate is managed efficiently and effectively, and in compliance with all statutory and mandatory requirements.
- Ensures soft facilities management services (transport, portering, catering, housekeeping and switchboard) are managed effectively and efficiently, developing to meet changing needs.
Previous experience
Mike is a qualified accountant, who has lived in Brighton for 19 years. He began his accountancy career working in the financial services industry and joined Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2009. At Western Sussex he has been Deputy Director of Finance and interim Finance Director before joining the executive team permanently in 2014.
Richard Curtin: Chief operating officer
Joined in January 2012.
Responsibilities
- Effective and efficient operational management of clinical services.
- Provision of appropriate and effective high quality care.
- Strategic advice and leadership on all clinical operational matters to the board.
- Works in collaboration with the executive medical director and chief nurse in developing a culture that embeds clinical governance and monitors its effectiveness.
Previous experience
Richard was a registered nurse with qualifications in leadership and business administration. He worked at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHSFT (GSTT) from 1997, where in his last role he led the clinical services strategy that underpins the successful integration of community services in Lambeth and Southwark into GSTT.
Susan Marshall: Chief nurse
Joined in April 2014.
Responsibilities
- Professional leadership of nurses and allied health professionals.
- Infection control management.
- Patient experience and involvement.
- Safeguarding.
- Quality standards.
Previous experience
With 30 years’ experience in both acute and community settings, Susan has joined us from the Black Country Partnership NHSFT, where she was director of nursing & professional practice.
Susan is a registered general nurse, with qualifications in midwifery and health visiting. She offers a record of achievement in clinical leadership, operational management and governance, including the development of a clinical competency framework to strengthen nursing standards and enhanced professional leadership to drive patient safety.
Susan brings particular interests in safeguarding, infection prevention & control and patient, carer & public engagement.
Richard Quirk: Executive medical director
Appointed as interim medical director in April 2012. Substantive appointment in October 2012.
Responsibilities
- Leads the development and implementation of our clinical care strategy.
- In charge of medicines management, research, development and innovation, and clinical governance.
- Jointly leads Clinical Quality Division with our chief nurse.
- Modernisation of medical and dental careers to develop services and roles to reflect evolving best practice.
- Supports provision of cost-effective (and regulatory compliant) services and staff recruitment and retention strategies.
- Leads, motivates and inspires senior medical and dental staff to ensure professional attitudes and behaviours are in line with our strategic business direction and values.
- Develops and coordinates, with the chief nurse, an effective response to continuing medical and dental education, training and development.
Previous experience
Richard is a GP practicing in West Sussex, with special interests in child health and safeguarding, family planning, obstetrics and gynaecology. He trained in London and has most recently been clinical governance lead at the trust’s urgent treatment centre in Crawley. Richard has experience in governance in the education field and spent ten years providing medical advice to a television production company.
