A Joint Chief Executive Officer has been appointed to oversee Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.

Cara Charles-Barks was appointed to the role following a decision by the Boards of the three Trusts earlier this year to establish a group model to deliver better outcomes for the local population.

Cara, who has worked in the Bath and northeast Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire system for eight years, will start her new position on Friday, November 1.

She said: “I am delighted to have been appointed Joint Chief Executive Officer of the three Trusts in Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire at this pivotal moment in the NHS’ history.

(Image: Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

“As three Trusts we now have the opportunity to learn together, to tackle inequalities in access to services, to work together to remove barriers to good health and provide improved health outcomes for all our communities.”

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Chief Executive of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, Sue Harriman, said: “Cara’s appointment is excellent news for our three hardworking acute hospitals and our wider health and care system.

“True collaboration adds real value to patient care and all three hospital trusts have a unique role to play in strengthening the support that local people and communities count on at every stage of their lives.

"Under Cara’s expert leadership, our hospitals will be stronger together and I look forward to seeing the benefits of these new arrangements over the coming years.”

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Cara has 30 years’ experience in the public and private health care sector and has been named as one of the NHS’s top 50 Chief Executives five times.

She received an MBE as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her leadership during the Novichok incident as CEO at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and in June 2019 she was appointed Honorary Colonel of 243 Multi-role Medical Regiment, part of the Army Medical Services.

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