A new chief medical officer has been appointed at a South Cumbrian health trust.
Dr Helen Skinner will join University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Barrow’s Furness General Hospital, Kendal’s Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, in August.
Jane McNicholas, the trust’s current chief medical officer, will leave the trust at the end of this month.
Dr Skinner joins the trust from the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, where she was medical director for operational delivery and a stroke consultant from August 2023 to the present.
She also holds a national role as clinical advisor for geriatric medicine with the Getting It Right First Time programme.
Dr Skinner previously served as chief medical officer for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board and spent more than five years in Christchurch, New Zealand, holding a range of senior leadership positions.
Aaron Cummins, the trust’s chief executive, said: “Helen’s clinical and leadership experience – both locally, nationally and internationally – will be a tremendous asset to us all and it will be a hugely beneficial that she will continue to undertake clinical work as part of her role. It will give us a real insight into the pressures and priorities our teams face.”
Dr Caroline Brock, deputy medical director and consultant in emergency medicine, will support the trust as interim chief medical officer until Dr Skinner joins.
Mr Cummings said: “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Jane for her hard work, dedication, and leadership over the past few years.
“Jane has made a significant impact during her time with us, and we wish her every success in her new role closer to home in Sheffield.”
