NHS South West London is delighted to welcome Mike Bell as our new Chair.
Mike will continue to serve as Chair of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in South East London alongside his role in South West London.
Mike Bell has more than 25 years’ experience in senior roles in the NHS with many of those directly serving our communities in South West London. He has more than a decade on the boards of strategic health authorities including serving as vice chair of NHS London. Until December last year, Mike spent 10 years as the Chair of Croydon Health Services helping the trust move out of special measures and pioneering a model of place-based integration which has brought better care to the people of Croydon.
Mike has helped to shape hospital and community services at other NHS Trusts in the capital to deliver higher quality care and help lead reforms to look after the health and care of local communities.
He has chaired a wide range of other organisations and networks including the London Health Observatory, the London Mental Health & Employment Partnership and he was also a London Health Commissioner for the Mayor of London from 2007 to 2013. Mike has a strong track record in public health related programmes with a particular focus on health inequalities, diversity and inclusion. He has led a number of national programmes in relation to both sexual violence and for sexual health and HIV. He was the first non-clinician to serve on the Board of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV.
Mike Bell has welcomed his appointment:
“I am absolutely delighted to be joining Sarah, the team and our partners at NHS South West London. I know we have much to be proud of across our partnership, with our hospital trusts delivering some of the shortest waiting times for operations in the country and our local authorities and community partners leading innovative practices to keep our communities well and improve their well-being.
“With this pride in our record, there is no complacency. Our mental health services are facing an unprecedented increase in demand, our GPs and pharmacists are working harder than ever before but too many local people are still ending up in hospital with avoidable conditions. By working together across the NHS, local authorities and our voluntary sector we can build a really joined up system that ensures that local people get a good start in life and are supported to stay well with earlier interventions, and access to smarter, faster services.
“We also know that there is a huge difference in the health outcomes between our wealthiest and poorest communities tackling these health inequalities will be central to our work as we move forward together.”
Helen Pettersen, NHS England London Regional Director, said:
“I would like to congratulate Mike as he takes on this hugely important role. Mike’s extensive local knowledge and leadership experience, combined with his ability to build impactful, lasting partnerships across health and care, will be a real asset for the people of South West London.”
Sarah Blow, Chief Executive of NHS South West London said:
“Mike is an experienced NHS Chair with a long history of working in South West London. I know that I speak for all of us in saying that we look forward to welcoming Mike, and working more closely with him as he takes on his new role. Having worked with Mike for a number of years, I know that his knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to us as we continue to progress our collaborative work to improve outcomes for local people.”