New boss starts at Eastbourne, Hastings and Bexhill hospitals

She replaces Adrian Bull, the previous chief executive of the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust who has retired.

Joe has more than 30 years of experience in the health sector, and was previously the trust’s deputy chief executive and chief operating officer, having been appointed in 2016.

She has worked in both ambulance and acute provider trusts, along with a period of time at the Strategic Health Authority. Joe began her NHS career working in the pharmacy department at Eastbourne DGH back in 1989.

Joe said, “It is an honour and privilege to take on the role of chief executive at a trust where I started my career. This is also the trust where I had my children and as a local resident, where my family and I receive our care.

“I am delighted to lead an organisation with such ambition, strong values and an exciting future. I want to continue to see our trust strengthen its reputation as a place in which people want to work and receive care, building on the foundations we have worked so hard to achieve over the past few years.

“The past few months have been some of the most challenging in the trust’s history. I’ve been immensely proud to see the way everyone in the organisation came together to adapt and change, working together as a part of one fantastic team with respect and compassion for our patients and one another.

“I look forward to working with our patients, local people, partners and our dedicated and committed staff to provide the best possible care to our local communities.”

Steve Phoenix, the chair of the trust, said, “I am delighted that Joe is our new chief executive and I look forward to working with her. Her detailed understanding of the organisation means that we will continue to build on the progress that we have all made together as a trust over the last few years.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Joe as we progress our aim of providing the highest quality care to patients across all of our services.”