Meet the Board

Paul took up office on 1 January 2020, and is in his second three-year term as Chair.

He has an extensive track record in NHS leadership, following a long career in the charity sector as well as in significant NHS Board level roles. In his roles at Age Concern England, Headway, and Action for Children he led strategic engagement with healthcare commissioners and providers, developing successful partnerships and new models of care delivery. This complemented his six years as a Non-Executive Director at Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust where he was part of the team successfully transferring the commissioning of health to new Clinical Commissioning Groups. He was also Chair of Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for six years.

Paul regularly works with NHS Providers, supporting their Board Development programme including induction for new Executive and and Non-Executive Directors.

A self-confessed "governance geek", Paul works with other organisations and writes occasional blogs on aspects of governance.

Carolyn is a highly experienced, senior health care leader with 17 years’ experience working at Board level within the complex and highly regulated environment of Acute and Community Foundation Trusts.

She joined Nottinghamshire Healthcare on 4 March 2019 and has a demonstrable track record in harnessing and developing the talents of staff, working to identify and realise their potential and building their confidence so that, even within the most challenging of environments, delivering excellence in patient care is always achievable.

Having worked in two Foundation Trusts and with the Care Quality Commission to develop its well-led framework for Community Trusts, Carolyn has an excellent understanding of healthcare regulation and the rigour trusts must apply to ensure the quality and safety of their services and has worked as both a specialist advisor and executive reviewer with the CQC.

Paddy was appointed to the Board of the Healthcare Trust in February 2022. He is a qualified social and community worker who was employed by local authorities in Nottinghamshire and by the Childrens’ Society. His work focused on early intervention and prevention.

He was a senior member of Nottinghamshire County council for many years and a national spokesperson on local government finance.

He was the MP for Sherwood from 1992 - 2010 and a minister in the Blair government. He served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and was the Chair of the Energy Select Committee.

He was the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottingham between 2012 and 2021. Again, he led nationally on police financing, was the Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and a member of the National Policing Board.

He is Chair of the Nottingham LIFT Companies.

He also Chairs the Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and is heavily involved in a number of environmental organisation including the Ramblers and the Wildlife Trust.

He teaches and lectures on public policy.

Paddy was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on the King's Birthday Honours List in 2024.

Sue Sunderland is a CiPFA qualified accountant who has more than 30 years’ experience of audit, governance, financial and risk management across the public sector.

Beginning her audit career with the Audit Commission she was a District Auditor for many years before becoming a Director with KPMG responsible for both internal and external audit clients. Throughout her career she has been driven by a desire to help the public sector be as effective as it can be in delivering it’s priorities within the resources available.

In 2015 she took the opportunity to translate this passion and her skills into the non executive role including taking up positions with two Nottinghamshire CCGs.

Sue’s ongoing Non Executive Director portfolio will also comprise:

• Audit Chair for Derbyshire Integrated Care Board
• Chair of the Joint Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee for the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable for Derbyshire
• Finance NED for Inclusion Healthcare Social Enterprise CIC in Leicester.

Nigel is a qualified accountant who worked for the Post Office and Royal Mail for over 30 years in a variety of Finance, HR and Health & Safety roles.

He has been involved with the NHS in a variety of Non-Executive Director (NED) roles for the last 10 years, across community and mental health services, and is currently also a NED at Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, and an Associate Mental Health Manager in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

He is also a Trustee at Citizens Advice in Derbyshire and has previously been a Trustee at Age UK. Nigel is originally from Wolverhampton but then lived in Nottinghamshire before moving to Matlock.

Ashiedu Joel (PhD) is the founder of Ashioma Consults Ltd, an Equity, Diversity, Inclusive Leadership and Cultural Capital company. She is an experienced practitioner and has held several strategic advisory and governance appointments.

Ashiedu has over two decades’ experience of supporting organisations, groups and individuals and her practice focuses on engaging and dialoguing constructively across racial, cultural and socio-environmental settings, promoting opportunities for collaboration. 

She holds several positions including Fellow of the Society of Leadership Fellows, Windsor Castle; Independent Chair at Derby and Derbyshire Drug & Alcohol Partnership; Chair of the Africa Business Chamber (AfBC) East Midlands. She is also a former Non-executive Director at Derbyshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Ashiedu is committed to improving the understanding of leadership and cultures, inclusion, representation and integration, adaptation and workforce diversity and their impact on the development, growth and sustainability of communities at large with emphasis on BME communities. 

Karen has more than 37 years' experience as a civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions, starting at Derby Jobcentre when she left school and ending her career as acting Director General for Work and Health services across the UK. Prior to this role, she was responsible for Jobcentres and benefits across Derbyshire, then Nottinghamshire, the East Midlands and the whole of Central England and Wales. She has also led a number of major change and transformation projects across the Department. Karen says she has always been passionate about providing support to those customers with the most complex needs and sponsored this work across the Department.

Karen left her job in 2022 to care for her mother, during which time she also began volunteering as a Samaritans listener. Keen to get back to making a difference as soon as she was able, Karen joined Nottinghamshire Healthcare in February 2025 as a non-executive director. This is Karen's first post in the NHS and as a lifelong proud public servant, she is looking forward to learning more about how the NHS and the Trust works, and using her previous experience to help it deliver its strategic objectives.

Dawn is an experienced clinician, having spent many years working in the NHS.  She is a nurse by background and has previously worked as an executive nurse in both the east and west midlands.  Dawn brings valuable experience and expertise in acute, mental health and community services from both provider and commissioning organisations.

More recently Dawn has worked as a non-executive director at a mental health and community provider in South Yorkshire.  She is an experienced chair of a range of board sub-committees including Quality Committee and is a previous senior independent director (SID).

Dawn is passionate about the provision of safe, high-quality care and ensuring an inclusive and supportive environment for our colleagues, patients, carers and the communities we serve.

Ifti took up his position as Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare on Thursday 1 December 2022.

He joined the Trust from Derbyshire Healthcare where he had held the position of Chief Executive for over five years, with an additional two years preceding this as Acting Chief Executive.

A mental health nurse by background, Ifti qualified in 1988 after training at St George’s Hospital in London.  He has held a range of clinical posts in adult mental health services, both in acute inpatient and community settings.

Ifti also has significant experience of effective leadership holding several nursing management roles before being promoted through senior management and executive roles.

He also holds a number of national positions, including Chair of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Network, and Co-Chair of their BME Leadership Network.

Dr Sue Elcock re-joined the Trust in May 2020 and has been the Executive Medical Director since March 2021.

Sue originally trained in the Trust and worked as a consultant forensic psychiatrist in the National High Secure Service for Women at Rampton Hospital for 10 years, before moving on to Medical Director posts in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

She was also Head of the School of Psychiatry, East Midlands for five years and has also led on implementing medical appraisal and revalidation in Notts Healthcare.

 

 

Becky took up the position of Chief Operating Officer on 1 June 2023.

Becky originally joined the Trust in October 2020 as Executive Director of Community Health Services and then went on secondment as Executive Director of Mental Health Services. Before joining us, Becky managed the Medicine and Emergency Care Division at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Becky is an experienced Audiologist, a leader in transformation and management, and has worked in the NHS for over 30 years. As the Chief Operating Officer, Becky is committed in providing the best possible patient care through fostering and developing our workforce and executing the Trusts long-term goals.

 

Diane took up her position of Executive Director of Nursing, AHPs and Quality at the Trust on 31 July 2023.

She joined us from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, where she held a similar executive director post since November 2018.

A registered mental health nurse by background, having qualified in 1990, Diane has fulfilled many specialist nurse roles before becoming an executive director of nursing in 2016.

Diane has a wealth of experience and commitment to caring and compassionate leadership.

 

 

Alison joined the Trust in 2009 after a long career in local government. Since joining the Trust she has covered various management accountancy roles more recently as Deputy Director of Finance and Procurement since March 2020 and is currently Executive Director of Finance and Estates.

Alison is a member of CIPFA and qualified at Nottingham Trent University as an accountant.  Alison is passionate about staff development and mentoring junior colleagues. The values of the Trust are important to Alison, particularly the focus on putting patient care at the heart of everything we do.

 

 

Jen was appointed as Executive Director of People and Culture in June 2022, having joined the Trust in January 2021 as the Deputy Director.   Immediately prior to working at Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Jen was Deputy Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust.

During her NHS career Jen has worked across acute, community and mental health sectors and is passionate about all things 'people'. 

With a keen interest in equality and diversity as well as the health and wellbeing of colleagues across the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire system,  Jen is committed to making Nottinghamshire Healthcare  'diverse, inclusive and a great place to work'.

Jan Sensier joined the Trust in April 2022 as Executive Director of Partnerships and Strategy. Prior to her appointment, Jan was the Director of Strategy and Partnership for the UK Health Security Agency where she was working for two years on Covid response in public health, and before this she was at the Office of the Public Guardian.

She has a wealth of experience and knowledge gained through her varied career, including managing several Jobcentres across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire; working at the regional Government Office representing 11 government departments in the East Midlands; and leading East Midlands Councils representing local authorities. Jan was also Chief Executive of Healthwatch Staffordshire in the wake of the Francis Inquiry and worked closely with the NHS, ensuring there was a strong patient voice informing decisions on services and supporting quality improvement. She also worked as a senior civil servant in the Office of the Public Guardian, and led regional teams informing ministerial decisions during the Covid pandemic.

Jan is committed to bringing these previous experiences into her role, helping the Trust to forge new partnerships and to develop its strategy in collaboration with our patients, staff and partners. Jan also leads on transformation and quality improvement, planning, digital and the Trust's key role commissioning low and medium secure services across the East Midlands. Jan feels privileged to be Executive Sponsor for Health Inequalities and Race, Religion and Belief and is passionate about wanting to make a difference.