Jacqui Smith steps down as chair of Barts Health
Jacqui Smith has stepped down as chair of Barts Health after being appointed as an education minister by the Prime Minister in the new Labour government.
As such, she has also resigned as chair of our collaboration partners at BHRUT. Adam Sharples, our vice-chair, will take over as acting Chair for Barts Health and his counterpart Mehboob Khan will perform a comparable role at BHRUT.
Jacqui was given a peerage at the weekend so she could take up her new ministerial post, 15 years after she was last in political office as the country’s first female Home Secretary.
She told Board colleagues at the weekend:
“I am enormously proud that the new Prime Minister has asked me to join the government as the Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Education.
Whilst I'm absolutely delighted, I'm sad that it means that I'll need to resign my role as Chair in Common of Barts Health and BHRUT with immediate effect. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you and I'm proud of what we've achieved together.“
During her earlier Westminster career Jacqui was briefly an education minister, holding the schools brief, before joining the Cabinet as Chief Whip.
Shane DeGaris, our group Chief Executive, paid tribute to Jacqui’s leadership of the two trusts as chair in common since 2021.
“We are enormously sad to lose Jacqui and have benefitted greatly from her experience and skills, but we wish her well in her new role.
“Any decision about who will replace her, and when, will be a matter for discussion with NHS England, which is responsible for appointing all trust chairs, and the North East London Integrated Care Board.”
Jacqui’s departure comes as we welcome a new non-executive director to their first trust Board meeting this month.
Prof Hilary Thomas, an academic and clinician, joins us as chair of the quality assurance committee.
She replaces Dr Kathy McLean, who has stepped down in order to focus on a new role as chair of the integrated care board for Derby and Derbyshire.
Prof Thomas is also serving as a joint non-executive with BHRUT. An oncologist, she was formerly medical director at The Royal Surrey County Hospital, and continues to work as a partner at PA Consulting.