Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Dear Candidate
Thank you for your interest in joining the Board of Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH).
QVH is a dynamic and high-performing organisation dedicated to delivering exceptional care to patients and their families who have experienced damage or disfigurement because of disease (including cancer), trauma, burns, major surgery, or a congenital condition. We also provide first-class community medical services for our local population at our East Grinstead site. We are proud of our rich heritage and our global reputation for pioneering innovative techniques and treatments for those affected.
We are currently seeking to appoint one Non-Executive Director, who will also act as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC). We are looking for a financially qualified individual who possesses the necessary skills and experience to help propel our strategic initiatives, as well as a commitment to uphold the Trust’s values in delivering optimal care and outcomes for our patients.
Our patients have consistently ranked QVH as one of the best hospitals in the country, earning the affection of our local community. Although we are the second smallest trust in the nation, our strength lies in our patient-centred approach, specialised services, dedicated staff, and our commitment to continuous improvement.
In December 2024, after months of actively listening to the voices of our staff, patients, and local communities, we were able to deliver: QVH Strategy 2025-2030. As a result, elevating clinical leadership within the Trust remains a key priority, as does strengthening our collaborative role in the Sussex healthcare system to address health disparities. Additionally, we are focused on advancing our digital transformation and implementing an integrated assurance framework to help us achieve our strategic objectives.
We are committed to cultivating a culture of continuous quality improvement that thrives on the agility, innovation, and transformation of our staff. To effectively achieve this, we need a Board that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, and I warmly encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups and this includes people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds.
I invite you to explore the information available on our website and discuss the role with our search partner, Anderson Quigley. If you are dedicated to positioning our Trust as a hybrid provider, enhancing our specialist services, and forging active partnerships in the local community then I look forward to receiving your application.
Thank you once again for your interest.
Queen Victoria Hospital is a specialist NHS hospital providing life-changing reconstructive surgery, burns care and rehabilitation services for people who have been damaged or disfigured through accidents or disease.
Our world-leading clinical teams provide specialist surgery and non-surgical treatment for people across the south east and beyond. We specialise in conditions of the hands and eyes, head and neck cancer and skin cancer, reconstructive breast surgery, maxillofacial surgery and prosthetics.
In addition, the people of East Grinstead and the surrounding area benefit from our expert clinicians treating more common conditions in our areas of specialism. We also provide a minor injuries unit, therapies services and a sleep service.
We are a centre of excellence, with an international reputation for pioneering advanced techniques and treatments.
QVH at a glance
Specialist expertise: QVH is a leading specialist centre for reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, helping people who have been damaged or disfigured through accidents or disease.
Internationally renowned: We have a proud heritage and are known throughout the world for pioneering new and innovative techniques and treatments.
Local services: We provide a minor injuries unit and other services for people living in and around East Grinstead.
Rated excellent: Patients rate us as one of the top hospitals in the country for quality of care.
1,000 staff: We employ around 1,000 skilled and committed staff, dedicated to helping QVH provide the very best care for our patients, and we are the largest employer in the local area.
7,500 members: As one of the country’s first NHS foundation trusts we are accountable to local people through our public members across Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex and South London.
At QVH, a behaviours framework has been developed with staff representatives to support the embedding of our values.
Key Strategic Objectives (KSO)
The Trust’s key strategic objectives (KSO’s) have also recently been refreshed to align with the future strategic ambitions and are as follows:
In the following video, we hope it will be helpful for you to hear what our nursing staff and operating department practitioner say about working at QVH:
To be eligible to apply for the role of NED, you must live within any of the following electoral wards:
Further Dates:
Board meetings are held every other month, face-to-face at the Trust, usually from 10.00 – 14.00.
Seminars are held in the months in between, face-to-face at the Trust. These meetings are held between 11.00 – 16.00.
Only in exceptional circumstances, can provision can be made to attend via Teams.
There are roughly five Audit & Risk Committee meetings per year.
Future Board Meeting Dates:
You can view QVH’s equality schemes and data here.
Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to the Trust, an executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.
The closing date for applications is 30 March 2025.
Applications should consist of:
Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, please contact Helene Usherwood on +44 (0)7719 322 669 or helene.usherwood@andersonquigley.com
Closing date | 30 March 2025 |
Preliminary interviews with AQ (via Teams) | w/c 28 April |
Shortlisting | w/c 05 May |
Candidate interview and stakeholder panels (at QVH) | w/c 19 May |