East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Chair
Ask most NHS trusts where care happens and they point at a building. At East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) we point at more than 100 community sites, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye and Uckfield, and half a million front rooms across East Sussex. We are the only integrated provider of acute and community care in Sussex, and that one fact shapes everything we do.
At ESHT we have stopped talking about the “left shift” and started delivering it: GP-led intermediate care wards, a virtual ward, an Urgent Community Response team beating its two-hour targets, a Community Diagnostic Centre in Bexhill. Our acute care has been right sized around that model, anchored by the new £40 million Sussex Surgical Centre at Eastbourne. £720 million, 8,700 staff, one clear direction.
We know we are not perfect – while our next Chair will inherit an ambitious organisation with some clear forward momentum, our financial challenge is significant and recurrent, and it will require some difficult decisions, made under close scrutiny to close the gap. Overall, however we are optimistic about our future, and we think the question for our new Chair isn’t whether change will happen, it’s how far will we take it.
In terms of what we are looking for; our next Chair must fit with our culture – we expect everyone at ESHT to live our values of kindness, inclusivity and integrity – and our Chair must visibly embody them. Beyond that, we are looking for someone with board experience of a relevant scale, from any sector, executive or non-executive, strong judgement, political astuteness and demonstrable financial and strategic grip.
Finally, at ESHT we know that the best boards reflect the communities they serve. This appointment will be made on merit through a fair and open process, and we particularly welcome applications from women, people from local Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and disabled people, who are under-represented in senior roles across the public sector.
For an informal, confidential conversation, contact Rhiannon Smith or Jenny Adrian at Hunter Healthcare: jadrian@hunter-healthcare.com or 07939 250362
KEY DATES:
Application deadline: 28 September 2026
Shortlisting w/c: 5 October 2026
Stakeholder sessions: 16/17 October 2026
Interviews: 19 October 2026 (Eastbourne)
Proposed start date: early 2027