Chief executive ranked in top 10 most influential clinical leaders

The chief executive of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who is also on the Board of Governors at Teesside University, has been ranked in the ‘top 10’ of most influential clinical leaders in England.

Professor Tricia Hart was placed at number ten in the HSJ’s clinical leaders list, launched this year, which looked for clinicians influencing policy, innovation and service transformation.

From a long list of more than 250 people, a panel of judges including Dr Phil Hammond, Dr James Kingsland, Professor Anne Marie Rafferty and Niall Dickson selected the final 100 names that form this year’s full selection.

From that 100, the judges went on to rank a top 10 using key measures such as influence and how well leaders used their clinical experience and training in the roles they performed.

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan said: 'The result is not just a list of people who excel in their own professional specialism but whose impact extends beyond their immediate sphere.'

Professor Hart, who was previously the director of nursing and patient safety at the trust, was one of a small team of assessors appointed to work alongside Robert Francis QC into his inquiry of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and for more than three years, attended hearings, parts of hearings, prepared reports and provided advice on matters relevant to the inquiry.

In February, she was also asked by the Prime Minister David Cameron to lead a review of complaints procedures in NHS hospitals alongside Labour MP Ann Clwyd, which will identify best practice and make recommendations for a set of common standards.

Professor Hart said: 'I feel somewhat overawed with the messages I’ve received from colleagues about this but it does drive me harder to achieve better standards for patients. It is wonderful for my family, especially my ailing father, the nursing profession and especially for South Tees.'

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