Trust appoints new Chief Nurse

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Elaine Newell as its chief nurse.

Elaine is the former director of midwifery at the Trust, which runs Sandwell, City and Rowley Regis Hospitals, and is noted for transforming standards of care within maternity services.
She has been acting chief nurse since December last year and was given the job after an external process overseen by NHS Improvement.

Her appointment has been welcomed by Chief Executive Toby Lewis. He said: “Elaine will bring a distinctive and professional voice reflecting the concerns and hopes of our patients and their carers. I have every confidence that she can drive the recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives.”

He added: “During her tenure we have seen a transformation in standards of care for women in the maternity service and she leaves the service in a very strong place to develop further, with a good rating from the CQC, and the Board investing further to try and reduce perinatal mortality.”

Commenting on her appointment, Elaine said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the nursing profession at the Trust as we work towards the opening of the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital. Whilst I am fully aware of the challenges within the NHS at this time, I believe we have a nursing team to be proud of and I will continue to work with them to improve the experience of patients and carers within our organisation.”