Trust announces in-coming Chief Executive Officer
James Blythe, current Interim Group Chief Executive Officer at one of the largest NHS health groups in the country, has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, starting later this year when Steve McManus steps down after more than 9 years in the role and more than 38 years service with the NHS.
Oke Eleazu, Trust Chair said, “James is coming ‘full circle’ as he started his career in the NHS at the Royal Berks as a graduate trainee in 2004. He brings with him a vast amount of experience and expertise gained from more than two decades of leadership roles within the NHS which we will embrace and benefit from as an organisation.”
In his current role, James is responsible for the services across St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospitals (gesh), which includes community services teams in Surrey and south west London.
With more than 20 years’ experience in the health service, he has worked in operational management, system management and policy roles. Through his system roles and at Epsom and St Helier, James has had longstanding involvement with plans to redevelop acute hospital estates.
Steve McManus, Chief Executive at the Trust said, “It’s been the privilege of my life to lead this Trust for almost a decade. And as I said when I first announced my intention to step down, I will be leaving with a heavy heart. However, one of the things I am most proud of is the culture our staff and volunteers have developed, lived, and breathe day in day out. As always, they have compassionate care, aspiration, and a will to be ‘even better’ at their core - all the while focused on supporting their patients, and each other – and I know that will continue under James’ leadership.
“Leading an organisation like this one, that has been at the centre of the community it serves for almost 200 years is a huge honour for anyone taking on the role. I know that James will lead the Trust into this next period supported by a hugely capable team, and I wish them the absolute best and all the success as they do so. My job now is to make sure that James is able to arrive well into the CEO role and we continue the outstanding work we do each day for this community.”
James Blythe added: “It is an enormous privilege to be appointed to the CEO role at the Trust. Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the exceptional culture, drive to innovate and focus on patient care that makes RBFT so special, and I’m really excited to work with the team to ensure this continues and goes further. I’ll be working closely with Steve over the coming months to ensure we have a smooth handover and I look forward to meeting everyone at RBFT very soon.”