Appointment of new Interim Chair at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Bill McCarthy has been appointed as the interim chair of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), replacing Rupert Nichols who retires at the end of December.
Mr McCarthy will take on the role, effective from 1 January 2023, for up to twelve months. This will enable seamless leadership in line with the Trust’s progress into the next phase of our improvement process, through the NHS England Recovery Support Programme, for the benefit of all our service users, carers and staff.
Bill will be stepping down from his current role at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, where he has been senior independent director since April 2022. Prior to that Bill was NHS Regional Director in the North West, before he retired in 2021. His previous roles include Director of Policy for NHS England, Chief Executive at NHS Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority, Deputy Vice Chancellor at University of Bradford, Chair of Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Chief Executive City of York Council, and Director General in the Department of Health. As such he will bring a thorough understanding of the NHS and the context within which GMMH operates, as well as a real commitment to improving the lives of the service users, staff and communities GMMH serves.
At the appropriate time next year, a substantive Chair of the Trust will be recruited via our Council of Governors, working with key stakeholders.
Neil Thwaite, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we welcome Bill’s appointment as interim Chair. His vast experience of the NHS and collaboration with partners will be hugely beneficial to our efforts to improve services. I look forward to working closely with him in the coming months.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rupert Nichols, who will shortly leave us after more than six years as our Chair. I wish him all the best in his retirement.”
