Chesterfield Royal Hospital announces appointment of new Chair
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has announced the appointment of its new Chair, Jackie Smith, following a competitive recruitment process supported by partners.
Jackie brings six years of experience chairing NHS organisations across acute, mental health, community, and specialist services, and a track record of leading Boards through complex transformation, strengthening governance processes, and driving organisational reform in complex and politically sensitive environments across healthcare, policing, and professional regulation.
She was formerly the Chair of Queen Victoria Hospital, where she has led the organisation through post-pandemic recovery, workforce challenges, and system integration. Prior to this, Jackie was the Chair of Camden and Islington NHS FT and Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Trust, a joint leadership role for two major London mental health providers where she led improvement of governance and risk processes and built influential relationships with system partners to enable improvement.
Jackie is the former CEO of the UK’s largest healthcare regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council; in this role she led significant organisational transformation, and delivered major reforms such as revalidation, and restored financial stability.
Jackie lives locally and is a keen runner and supporter of charities.
Carol Warren, Lead Governor, commented: “The appointment of Chair is one which is led by the Governors; and I am delighted to welcome Jackie to the role. Throughout the process Jackie’s commitment to the care of patients and colleagues, aligned very much to our values, shone through. I very much look forward to working with her.”
Dr Hal Spencer, Chief Executive, said: “ I enjoyed meeting Jackie during the appointments process and speaking with her when I accompanied her on a tour of site to show her some of the good work we are doing. I look forward to working with her as Chair of our Trust and I know that Jackie’s values, experience, and strong track record will be a welcome addition to our board.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Jayne Stringfellow for stepping so effectively into the role of Interim Chair during the last few months and I know that she will support a smooth transition as Jackie begins in this role.”
Chesterfield Royal Hospital will confirm Jackie’s start date in due course.