NHS trust chief executive leaves role after four years

The chief executive of a Kent NHS trust has announced she is leaving her role after four years.

Tracey Fletcher joined East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKH) in April 2022.

Dr Des Holden will continue in the role of acting chief executive at the trust until a permanent appointment is made, it said.

The trust was recently included in a programme aimed at tackling the "worst services in the country".

Fletcher joined EKH from the Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in London, where she had served as chief executive since 2013.

"It was humbling to experience the commitment given in providing healthcare services to the local population and the dedication in doing that," she said.

The trust's interim chair, Dr Olu Olasode, said the trust had made "significant progress in many areas" under Fletcher's leadership.

This included maternity services being upgraded from inadequate to good by the Care Quality Commission, as well as securing investment to improve its buildings, facilities and equipment.

It also included a £29m investment to improve same day emergency care services at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and access to emergency care at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

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