Appointed June 2017 to May 2020
Reappointed June 2020 to May 2023
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.
Appointed December 2013 to December 2020
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.
Appointed September 2013 to September 2022
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.
Appointed February 2015 to July 2021
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.
Appointed July 2014 to July 2021
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.
Appointed February 2015 to January 2021
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. Until May 2019 she was Chief Executive of a well known barristers’ chambers in London that specialised in public law.
Elizabeth combines her role at SCFT with being Managing Director of Kapow Primary Limited an online education publisher.
Joined in May 2013
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 21 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.
Appointed director of finance and estates October 2016
Mike is a qualified accountant and a fellow of the ACCA. He began his accountancy career working in the financial services industry, then in higher education and then began his NHS career in 2002. He moved from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2009 and joined Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
At Western Sussex he was Deputy Director of Finance and interim Finance Director before joining their executive team permanently in 2014 as Commercial Director.
Joined in August 2019
Sara graduated in Medicine from University College London in 1988. She completed her postgraduate training in North West and South West Thames regions. For the past 22 years she has worked as a Consultant in Geriatric and General Medicine, held a number of clinical and educational leadership roles and most recently has been Medical Director for Newham Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust.
Joined in June 2020
Donna began her career in acute care before moving to community services with a London PCT and Sure Start Centres.
After a short time working as an Associate Inspector for the Healthcare Commission, Donna moved to Redbridge Children’s Trust as a Nurse Manager.
From there, Donna moved into a quality and governance role before joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Fitness to Practice panellist. In 2013 Donna joined Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust as an Assistant Director of Quality and Governance and the patient safety and safeguarding lead. In 2017 Donna was seconded into the role of Director of Nursing and Non-Medical Professionals before being appointed substantively.
Donna is a senior nurse, midwife and health visitor and is also a scholar of the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
She has a passion for listening to patients, their families and carers and is committed to shaping and delivering effective improvements to staff engagement and quality of care.
Joined October 2019
Kate started her career in the NHS as a midwife and health visitor before working in several operational roles within children and adult services, including Head of Children’s Services and Area Director.
Kate was appointed interim Director of Operations in October 2017 to support the Trust’s Chief Operating Officer, with a particular focus on supporting colleagues internally who manage and provide patient services. This role was made substantive in May 2018. In October 2019 Kate was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Kate has an Msc in Leadership and Management. She has been with the Trust since it was formed in 2010.
Joined in 2019
Prior to joining the Trust Diarmaid was Digital Lead at Public Health England for five years. Whilst there he was responsible for introducing new agile ways of working and helping the organisation adopt a service design approach. The services he helped support and develop included the FoodSmart app, Couch to 5k, London GoodThinking, Public Health Outcomes, NHS Health Checks, NHS Apps library, NHS.UK, GOV.uk and many more.
Prior to that role, Diarmaid worked in many areas of the private sector delivering digital transformation for a number of large organisations such as Tui Travel, AOL and Investec Investment Bank and also smaller digital disruptors such as Zopa and Interactive Investor. He is passionate about maximising the use of digital technology to improve the services offered by organisations and most importantly their end users (and for the NHS its patients).
Diarmaid joined Sussex Community in May 2019 and has since made wide changes to the digital workings within the Trust. He has led a number of innovations and improved the way we work digitally.
Joined in 2017
Ensures we meet our service, regulatory and statutory obligations with regards to all aspects of Human Resources
Is responsible for Organisational Development (OD), facilitating organisational success by aligning structural, cultural and strategic goals to respond to the needs of the NHS now and in the future
Ensures that Communications and Engagement puts patients at the heart of all services delivered by SCFT and that all staff are engaged with the work of the Trust
Leads the Occupational Health service ensuring that staff are well at work and have access to the support that they need to remain that way Is responsible for Learning and Development
Caroline was appointed as Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development in November 2017.
She was previously Deputy Director of HR and OD at the organisation. Caroline has worked in the NHS for over 20 years in a range of roles in HR and OD. She has an MA in Human Resources Management and has previously worked in acute, specialist and mental health NHS trusts.
She joined Sussex Community in March 2016.