Vanessa became Chief Executive of South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust in August 2019 having joined the Trust as Director of Nursing and Quality Standards in May 2016.
Vanessa has a wealth of experience in mental health and nursing leadership roles. Before returning to the Trust, where she completed her nursing training more than 22 years ago, she was Interim Director of Nursing and Quality Assurance at Devon Partnership NHS Trust and Director of Nursing Standards and Governance at West London Mental Health NHS Trust. Vanessa is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and member of the Royal College of Nursing.
Vanessa is the joint Senior Responsible Officer for Mental Health for South West London. She is also Senior Responsible Officer for Digital across the South West London ICS and co-chair of the NHS Confederation Mental Health Digital Forum. As such she leads on digital transformation and advocates for the positive impact it can have on the care and treatment of patients and increasing patient choice.
Vanessa is also the NHS Place Based Convenor for the Borough of Merton. She leads a transition team working with partners to develop and strengthen Merton’s health and care together partnership.
Vanessa is passionate about inclusivity and has pledged to ensure that being inclusive and equitable is at the heart of the Trust. In 2021 Vanessa, alongside six other senior leaders in our Trust, completed the White Allies programme, which has further lead to strengthen her personal and professional commitment to leading the Trust towards becoming truly anti racist.
Vanessa is passionate about inclusivity and has pledged to ensure that being inclusive and equitable is at the heart of the Trust. Vanessa’s preferred pronouns are she/her