Board of Directors

Martin Barkley

Chair

Martin was appointed Chair of the Trust in November 2023.

Martin started his career in the NHS as a trainee hospital administrator. In 1983, he commissioned and opened East Surrey Hospital and, in 1986, moved into general management with responsibility for the East Surrey Learning Disability and the mental health services, transforming the services from being institutional-based to community-based, leading the unit to become an NHS Trust in 1994, when he became its Chief Executive. He subsequently went on to serve four more Trusts (Nottingham Healthcare NHS Trust, Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust, Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust) as Chief Executive, up to his retirement in 2021. His career is characterised by leading service modernisation, quality improvement, and organisational development. Since his retirement, Martin has undertaken voluntary work for the charity Zarach, supports Yorkshire Cancer Research, and is a Governor of Leeds Beckett University.

Declaration of interests

• Trustee of Zarach
• Trustee of Yorkshire Cancer Research
• Governor of Leeds Beckett University

Clare Smith

Chief Executive

Clare is the Chief Executive of the Trust, having joined the organisation on 24 November 2025.

Clare brings a wealth of experience from across the NHS and public sector. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where she had been part of the leadership team since 2014. During that time, she played a key role in leading one of the largest and busiest hospital trusts in the country.

Clare’s career also includes senior roles within an acute trust in Scotland, as well as experience in the Armed Forces and in local government education services. She has held regional leadership roles too, including Chair of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts’ Chief Operating Officers Group and Senior Responsible Officer for Urgent and Emergency Care Transformation within the West Yorkshire Integrated Care System.

Andrew Bertram

Finance Director and deputy Chief Executive

Andrew was appointed as finance director in January 2009.

As finance director, Andrew is responsible for providing strategic financial leadership and advice.  Andrew has a key role to play to ensure effective professional input to the definition and development of the Trust’s overall strategic vision and direction and the day-to-day managerial decision making process.  He advises the Board and chief executive on matters of financial governance and probity and ensures the highest standards of financial governance and management in line with best practice.

Andrew joined the NHS in 1991 as a finance trainee at York as part of the NHS graduate management training scheme.  Upon qualifying as an accountant, he undertook a number of financial roles supporting many of the Trust's clinical teams and later became directorate manager for medicine for a short time.

Andrew left the Trust in 2005 to take up the role of deputy finance director at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.  He subsequently returned to the Trust in 2009 as finance director.

Declaration of interests

• Co-opted Trustee, St Leonard’s Hospice

Dr Karen Stone

Medical Director

Karen was appointed as Medical Director for the Trust in November 2022.

As Medical Director Karen is responsible for the appointment, development and professional leadership of medical and dental staff.  Karen acts as the Responsible Officer for the Trust and is responsible for medical leadership including professional standards, appraisal and revalidation and appointments.  She also has responsibility for medical education, patient safety, clinical audit, medication safety, clinical risk and medico-legal matters.

Karen graduated from Birmingham University with a medical degree in 1990. She then worked in posts in paediatrics in Birmingham, London and Yorkshire. She was appointed to a consultant paediatric post with an interest in emergency paediatrics at Pontefract General Infirmary in 2001 after obtaining her Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training. Her career at Pontefract, which became part of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, saw her develop into an accomplished medical leader. In 2014 Karen became the Medical Director, a post that she has left to join York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Karen comes to us with a wealth of experience in medical leadership, quality improvement, patient safety, clinical reconfiguration and is passionate about multi professional education.

Declaration of interests
Nil

Claire Hansen

Chief Operating Officer

Claire was appointed as Chief Operating Officer for the Trust in July 2023.

As Chief Operating Officer, Claire is responsible for the leadership and delivery of the Trust’s operational services and is the lead executive director for Strategic Planning. 

Claire began her career in the Strategic Health Authority undertaking statistical analysis before moving to Clinical Audit in secondary care.  Her career was in Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust where she worked for over 20 years across many of the specialities spanning hospital and community services, culminating as Deputy Chief Operating Officer.  For the two years prior to joining York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust Claire was Programme Director for the Humber Acute Services Review which developed a pre-consultation business case for services across Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust and the 4 Places of North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Hull and East Riding.  Claire has also been involved in workforce design with the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and wider system and is a qualified 360 Facilitator.

She brings with her experience as a leader in both system working, operational delivery and strategic planning, and is passionate about ensuring patients and staff are at the heart of sustainable service design.

Declaration of interests
Nil

Joe Hague

Chief Nurse

Further details to follow.  

Declaration of interests
Nil

Lydia Larcum

Interim Director of Workforce and Organisational Development

Lydia Larcum, Deputy Director of Workforce has stepped into the role of Director of Workforce and Organisational Development on an interim basis.

Further details to follow.  

Declaration of interests
Nil

James Hawkins

Chief Digital and Information Officer

As Chief Digital and Information Officer James leads digital transformation of the Trust integrating with the Humber and North Yorkshire ICS.

He is responsible for the delivery of the strategic digital capabilities required to underpin new models of care provided across the Trust and the integrated care system.

James is also responsible for the delivery and maintenance of our digital infrastructure and providing assurance to both Trust and ICS board in this regard, which includes assurances around cyber security, service continuity and information governance.

James joined the Trust from NHS Digital where he had several different roles on the executive team and was central to the delivery of many of the national NHS IT systems and services and commercial frameworks, such as the NHS App, NHS.UK, NHS 111, NHS Summary Care Records and the GP IT Commercial Framework to name a few.

Declaration of interests

• Member - Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

Lucy Brown

Director of Communications

Lucy was appointed as Director of Communications in February 2020.  

Lucy joined the Trust in July 2008 as Communications Service Manager, establishing the Trust’s first in-house communications function.  She was appointed Head of Communications in 2011 and latterly Acting Director of Communications in June 2018, reporting to the chief executive.

Lucy’s portfolio includes media relations and PR, internal communications, stakeholder engagement and charity fundraising.

After graduating from The University of Sheffield in 2002, Lucy joined the press office at Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (now Yorkshire Ambulance Service).  She joined NHS Employers in 2005, holding a number of communications roles before becoming Senior Communications Manager.

Declaration of interests

• Trustee, Friends of Rowntree Park

Chris Norman

Managing Director, York Teaching Hospitals Facilities Management

As the Managing Director of York Teaching Hospitals Facilities Management (YTHFM) LLP, Chris leads the estates and facilities services, capital development, medical engineering, and sustainability efforts for the Trust. His primary focus is to ensure the maintenance of a safe, compliant, and clean estate for all.

Chris's journey began in the private sector as a Chartered Civil Engineer, where he had the opportunity to deliver infrastructure projects in the water industry and airports. This experience laid the foundation for his transition into the health sector, where he contributed to capital projects for Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, delivering major service improvement projects.

Chris embarked on his NHS career at Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals, spending 12 years working across capital, estates, and facilities services. This diverse experience eventually led him to the role of Estates Director at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, where he delivered a service redesign programme and produced and delivered the estates strategy.

Throughout his career, Chris has gained valuable insights into system working, operational delivery, and strategic planning. He is passionate about fostering a culture of compassion, collaboration, and excellence, ensuring that both patients and staff are at the centre of every decision.

Declaration of interests

• Nil

Lorraine Boyd

Non-Executive Director

Lorraine was appointed as a non-executive director of the Trust in 2018.

Lorraine is a GP and brings 30 years’ of experience of direct patient care.

In recent years Lorraine has been involved as GP representative within NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group and The Humber, Coast and Vale Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.  She is the founder directory of City and Vale GP Alliance and she has supported the development of collaborative working between the Trust and primary care.

Declaration of interests

• Trustee - Friends of St Monica

Jane Hazelgrave

Non-Executive Director

Jane has worked in the NHS for over 30 years, including the last 14 years as an executive Director of Finance on a number of NHS boards including Humber and North Yorkshire ICB and Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust.

She has spent most of her NHs career working in acute trusts but has also worked in commissioning and a strategic Health Authority. 

Before working in the NHS,  Jane worked in the private sector in a number of senior financial roles mostly in the brewing sector.

Jane is a qualified Chartered Management accountant and holds a degree in Accounting and Finance.

Helen Grantham

Non-Executive Director

Helen is a solicitor and spent her executive career in the private sector as General Counsel and Group Secretary of large, complex listed companies and latterly at the Co-op Group. The majority of her career was spent in consumer-facing organisations going through periods of significant change and having executive responsibility for legal, compliance, governance, risk, audit and corporate affairs functions. Her roles also involved extensive stakeholder engagement.

Since stepping away from her executive career she has concentrated on non-executive roles with a focus on education, community, well-being and the natural environment. She has a strong commitment to supporting diverse and inclusive organisations.

She is a Council member at the University of Leeds, where she chairs their remuneration committee. She also chairs the Yorkshire and North-East Advisory Board at the Canal and River Trust which provides green and blue spaces in communities across the region.

Declaration of interests

• Lay Member of Council, University of Leeds

Rukmal Abeysekera

Non-Executive Director

Rukmal is the University of York Stakeholder Non-Executive Director. She previously served as a Governor of the Trust for five years from 2020, including three years as Lead Governor. She brings over 30 years of experience in building partnerships across academia, industry, and the public sector, with extensive expertise in healthcare research and innovation.

She holds a BSc and MSc from the University of Auckland, a PhD from Dalhousie University and a Diploma in Management Studies from the University of York. Rukmal also serves on the external Advisory Board for the national PRISM network (Professional Research Investor and Strategy Managers) and the Sustainability Steering Group at University of York.

Passionate about advancing equality, she has held several leadership roles including Equality Champion and Chair of the Staff Race Equality Forum at the University of York, chair of her local Parish Council, and she continues to mentor individuals across the sector.

Matthew Taylor

Non-Executive Director

Matthew Taylor is Chair of the Fair Work Agency and a leading voice on employment rights in the UK. He led the landmark Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, published in 2017, which shaped subsequent UK labour market reforms, including those currently being implemented through the Employment Rights Act. His work on the review led to his recognition in the 2019 Birthday Honours list, being appointed a CBE.

Matthew is coming to the end of his tenure as Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, where he has served since 2021. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), which he transformed into a global institution with 30,000 fellows and an influential research programme. Earlier in his career, Matthew was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research. He is a regular commentator on public policy, including as a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze.

Julie Charge

Non-Executive Director and Chair of York Teaching Hospitals Facilities Management

Julie Charge has worked at the University of Salford since 2014, originally as the Executive Director of Finance, but has most recently taken up the role of Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer.

Julie oversees the professional services of the University, including Finance, Strategy, Estates, Digital IT, Student services and Marketing.

Julie qualified as an accountant in 1995, completing her Master’s in Business Administration in 2009. she has over 30 years of experience working in Finance. She’s worked in a variety of Public and Private sectors including Health, Manufacturing and Higher Education.

Declarations of interests

• Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, University of Salford
• Non-Executive Director, UM Association Limited
• Non-Executive Director, UM Association (Special Risks) Limited
• Non-Executive Director, Hasilwood Management Services Limited
• Trustee, The STAR Multi Academy
• Trust Trustee and Treasurer, Friends of Saxton School Charity

Dr Richard Reece

Associate Non-Executive Director

Richard dedicated nearly 40 years to the NHS before retiring in June 2024. He began his medical career after qualifying as a doctor in Cardiff in 1987, choosing to specialise in Rheumatology. Richard completed his specialist training in Yorkshire, including 18 months as a Senior Registrar in York, and finished his training in 1998.

He was appointed to his first Consultant post in August 1998, working across Leeds and Huddersfield. In 2010, Richard joined County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as a Consultant, later moving to Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019 to further his career.

Throughout his career, Richard was committed to clinical excellence and delivering the highest quality care to his patients. He embraced innovation in care delivery and was actively involved in clinical research, particularly in imaging and the therapeutic effects of drug interventions in inflammatory arthritis.

Richard also pursued leadership roles, serving as Departmental Lead and Clinical Director at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. His move to Newcastle allowed him to devote more time to clinical teaching at the Medical School, sharing his expertise with the next generation of doctors.

Declaration of interests
Nil

Ian Floyd

Associate Non-Executive Director

Ian has worked in local government for all his career, and between 2008-2026 he was part of the management team of City of York council, and between 2019-26 he was the most senior officer within the Council. Ian has played a leading part in the development of the city and directly lead a number of major developments within the city, most notably the Community Stadium.

In his last four years at the council he was Chair of the Health and Care Partnership Board, working closely with many organisations within the city on health and care matters.

Ian is a qualified accountant.