Changes to Cambridge University Hospitals Board of Directors

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has announced changes to the Board of Directors following the resignation of a non-executive director.

Richard Barfield, who was appointed in September 2009, is standing down because he has accepted a new and demanding executive position in the private sector.

Malcolm Nicholson, whose appointment as a non-executive director was announced last year, will be taking up his role with immediate effect. Malcolm, who was a partner in the leading law firm Slaughter and May for over 27 years and is now a panel member of the Competition Commission, will serve an initial term of three years and will receive a fee of £13,871 per year.

Non-executive directors sit on the Board of Directors, and are chosen because of their high-level experience and links with the local community. The Board of Directors determines the overall strategic direction of the Trust and is responsible for all operational and financial issues. As a foundation trust, Cambridge University Hospitals also has a Board of Governors, the majority of whom are elected by, and represent, members drawn from the community. As part of their role, the Governors appoint the chairman and non-executive directors.

The Board of Directors has also appointed Professor Geert Blijham as International Advisor. He originally trained as a cancer specialist, eventually becoming President of the Utrecht Academic Health Science Centre and developing an international reputation for successfully combining patient care, biomedical research and clinical education. He retired last year and now joins the Board as the Trust develops its role in Cambridge University Health Partners, one of the UK’s five newly-established Academic Health Science Centres.