Our Trust Board

Melloney Poole, OBE

Chairman

Melloney Poole OBE joined the Trust Board in May 2017 and was appointed Chairman on 1 November 2017.

Since June 2015, she has been the head of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund and the other grant programmes funded by LIBOR fines which directly supports the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant across the UK.

Melloney is a corporate, charity and public administrative law solicitor with 25 years of private sector commercial and corporate experience before becoming the head of the legal department for the Big Lottery Fund in 2003. She developed the combined legal service department which now supports all the legal and governance matters for the Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund.

In addition, Melloney had had a parallel career as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS, serving on the boards of three NHS Trusts, and is the Vice Chair of the Health Foundation.

She has also been a volunteer and fundraiser for various charities and a magistrate on the Preston bench. Melloney was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year Honours for legal and governance services.

Phil Berrington

Non-Executive Director, Vice Chair 

Phil joined Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in February 2023. He is also a Non-Executive Director with the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, initially joining as an Associate Non-Executive Director January 2019, and since January 2022 has been a Non-Executive Director. He is also an Executive Partner in IBM Consulting and leads accounts where clients are undergoing large and complex transformation journeys.

In his consulting work Phil has experience of working in the public sector, notably with a large central government department helping them transform back-office functions and processes. He is currently IBM’s Lead Client Partner for large media production and broadcasting organisation. Phil is a Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA), a Chartered Management Consultant, and holds a post graduate diploma in Strategy & Innovation from Said Business School.

Christine Slaymaker, CBE

Non-Executive Director, Chair of Finance and Infrastructure Committee 

Christine joined the Board in May 2017. Prior to this she was Chief Executive of Farnborough College of Technology, rated “Outstanding” for Quality and Financial Health. She is a business graduate and has held non-executive positions for a number of organisations including Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, Treloar School and College, a Royal Engineers charity and the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Christine was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2014. She is from the Portsmouth area and still lives locally.

Martin Rolfe

Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director,  Chair of Quality and Performance Committee

Martin Rolfe is Chief Executive Officer of NATS, the UK’s leading provider of Air Traffic Management services. Previously, Martin was the Managing Director of Operations at NATS, responsible for delivering NATS’ regulated UK air traffic business.

Prior to joining NATS, Martin worked for the Lockheed Martin Corporation where he was Managing Director of its £350M UK civil business.

Martin holds a master’s degree in aerospace systems engineering from the University of Southampton. His career started with the European Space Agency working in orbital mechanics. Since then, Martin has worked in the aviation domain for more than 20 years across a number of companies leading large multinational teams across Europe, the US, and Asia with customers that include central government departments, military organisations and air navigation service providers.

Gary Hay

Non-Executive Director, Chair of Workforce and OD Committee 

Gary Hay has been a solicitor for more than 25 years, most of which was spent acting for public sector bodies including the NHS, police, fire and local government. He has acted as trusted legal adviser to many NHS Trusts across the country, advising on employment law issues at a senior level. He is a recognised public speaker and is particularly known for his work around equality and diversity.

During his time in private practice, Gary sat on the boards of two firms for a combined total of 14 years. At Capsticks solicitors, as well as helping to shape and deliver an ambitious strategy for growth, he was responsible for a number of key initiatives, including expansion into new geographies, developing new markets and establishing an HR consultancy service.

Gary recently set up his own consultancy, Law2Business, focussed on training and coaching for lawyers. He is also Chair of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity.

Inga Kennedy CBE

Non-Executive Director, Maternity Safety Champion 

Inga Kennedy was former Head of the Royal Navy Medical Services. She is a registered nurse, midwife and nurse lecturer, has undertaken post-graduate studies in education and has had the opportunity to attend the Ashridge Leadership and Management Centre as well as the Royal College of Defence Studies as an associate. Although her roots still lie in the north east of Scotland, Inga now lives in Fareham with her husband Mark, who serves in the Royal Navy.

Inga has a keen interest in the governance and assurance of healthcare and was most recently the Inspector General for the Defence Medical Services, a role similar to that carried out by the Care Quality Commission across England. With extensive experience in this area, she further developed systems and processes that deliver credible research based evidence, providing an assurance of the standard of healthcare delivered across defence.

Inga was appointed to the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, as a Commander in the 2017 New Year Honours. She enjoys walking, sailing and skiing. A keen supporter of Adventurous Training and the Joint Services Sail Training Centre, she has enjoyed a number of trips around the Mediterranean and Caribbean as well as the UK, most recently as part of the Jubilee Regatta celebrations.

Professor Graham Galbraith

Non-Executive Director, University of Portsmouth representative 

Professor Galbraith joined the Trust Board in July 2020. Graham has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth since September 2013 and has responsibility for the strategic direction of the university, working with the Board of Governors and the senior management team.

He is passionate about higher education and its power to transform the life choices of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. Graham is committed to leading the university to provide the very best student experience underpinned by internationally excellent research and world class business engagement.

Dr Vivek Srivastava

Non-Executive Director

Dr Srivastava is a consultant in Acute Medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.  He leads the development and implementation of new roles, like advanced nurse practitioners and physician associates, to help his department provide high quality clinical services. 

As a Clinical Coordinator at the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death (NCEPOD) Vivek has contributed to reports on the quality of care of conditions like sepsis, pulmonary embolism, peri-operative diabetes care and mental healthcare in acute hospitals.

In his academic role, Vivek is passionate about education and training for medical students and leads Acute Care teaching at King’s College London School of Medicine.  He has also published his work on mental health services, mental health education and predicting re-admissions in elderly patients.

Stephen Mount

Non-Executive Director

Stephen is an Independent Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Gama Aviation Plc. He also sits on the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Determinations Panel of The Pensions Regulator. These Committees hear from all parties, and independently determine cases brought by the regulator’s enforcement arms.

From 2017 to October 2023, he was a Non-Executive Director of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust which manages Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hospitals with 9,000 staff and turnover of £600m. He chaired the Audit (and previously the Finance & Performance) Committee, and sat on the Quality and Workforce Committees.

In addition, Stephen acts internationally as an expert witness on corporate governance, financial reporting and auditing matters.

He previously sat on the Audit Quality Review Committee of the Financial Reporting Council, was a Governor of Reading Blue Coat School and a Trustee and Treasurer of New Forest Heritage.

Stephen retired as a senior partner with PwC in 2016 after almost 4 decades’ experience auditing and advising listed companies, their shareholders, boards and management on financial, operational, strategic and governance issues. As lead engagement and global relationship partner, he worked internationally with leading FTSE, NYSE, NASDAQ, CAC40, DAX and other Fortune 500 groups. He also served in management roles as UK Technology Industry Leader, Senior Partner of PwC's West London office and Head of Marketing & Business Development for the South Region.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and holds an MBA with Distinction from Warwick Business School and a BSc (Econ) from University College London.

Penny Emerit

Chief Executive

Penny joined Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in January 2018 from NHS Improvement having held senior leadership roles across the wider health system in London and the South.

Penny’s role as Delivery and Improvement Director for NHS Improvement involved oversight of the provider organisations across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Dorset.

Before joining NHS Improvement (formerly the NHS Trust Development Authority) Penny was the Area Director for South London at NHS England, Director of Delivery at the South East London PCT Cluster and held a number of roles at NHS London Strategic Health Authority, latterly supporting the implementation of the Healthcare for London programme.

Penny joined the NHS as a graduate management trainee and holds an economics degree and post graduate diploma in healthcare management.

Mark Orchard

Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Chief Executive 

Mark Orchard joined Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in October 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.

Previously Mark was Executive Director of Finance at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, one of four NHS providers working together with the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group as a wave one integrated care system.  Mark is currently national chair of the NHS Providers Finance and Commercial Directors Network.

Mark has also held the Wessex system Finance Director post at NHS England, the Commissioning Finance Director role at Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and more latterly, at NHS Bournemouth and Poole. Mark was national president of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) during 2016/17 and served a full 10 years as Trustee on their national Board between 2009 to 2019.

Peter Ridley 

PHU Chief Officer

Peter brings with him a wealth of NHS experience in senior roles, he has a strong track record in NHS finances as he joins us from NHS England where he held the role as Deputy Chief Finance Officer. He has also held roles leading strategy and performance at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

Joe Smyth

Chief Officer Isle of Wight NHS Trust

Joe joined the Isle of Wight NHS Trust in October 2019, in his previous role he worked with eight CCG’s and four acute Trusts to develop an acute clinical site strategy for North West London. Prior to that, Joe was the Chief Operating Officer at Hillingdon Hospitals for seven years and led on the creation of their Integrated Care Partnership. He was also the Director of Service Improvement at Epsom and St Helier in South London and spent 3 years at the Royal Bournemouth NHS Trust as their Deputy COO where he led the reconfiguration of their hospital sites.

Nicole Cornelius

Chief People Officer

Nicole joined the Trust as Director of Workforce and Organisational Development in October 2018. She has over 30 years’ experience working in the public sector, including the role of Director of HR and Corporate Services for Hampshire Constabulary and senior roles within the Probation Service and local government.

Nicole is passionate about creating an environment of support and wellbeing for staff, particularly in relation to keeping staff safe at work and addressing the issue of violence against staff.

Nicole is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a master’s degree from Cambridge University. She is also a member of the Independent Advisory Panel to the military.

Liz Rix, MBE

Chief Nurse

Liz has previously held a number of director-level nursing positions in large, integrated trusts, most recently at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust where she was Chief Nurse

Liz is passionate about delivering quality care for patients through clinical leadership at all levels. She has the experience needed to develop strong nursing teams who manage workforce, patient experience and environment while also living the trust values: working together for patients, with compassion, as one team and always improving. 

Liz is one of the few nurses to graduate from the NHS Management Training Scheme after working in the health service for a number of years.

John Knighton

Chief Medical Officer

John spent three years gaining general medicine experience before training in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia in the South West and Wessex. He spent a year as a visiting instructor at the University of Michigan Hospital before taking a post in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust at the start of 2000.

He led the design of our state-of-the-art critical care facilities, and was one of the clinical team leading on design for the whole hospital. He was Clinical Director for the Department of Critical Care from 2010-2016, during which it was rated as “Outstanding” by the CQC.

He has been a CQC Specialist Advisor for acute hospital inspections and has a long-held passion for improving patient safety and quality of services, championing an open and learning culture based on strong multi-disciplinary team working.

Anoop Chauhan, MBE

Director of Research

Professor Anoop J Chauhan, MBE joined the Trust Leadership Team in July 2020. He had previously been Director of Research at the Trust since 2009 and is also a practising physician in Respiratory and General Medicine.

Anoop has developed opportunities for patients throughout the region to participate in high quality research trials, introduced innovations in clinical pathways, developed new models of care, and helped set up a nationally recognised severe asthma centre in Portsmouth. His research has resulted in a positive impact on disease control, quality of life, healthcare usage and health economic benefits in patients with respiratory conditions.

Anoop has helped multiple small and medium-sized businesses to secure funding, develop high-quality research studies and technology trials in support of the NHS. He has also set up the Portsmouth Technology Trials Unit to allow more health technology companies to work with patients and the NHS.

Nikki Turner

Chief Transformation officer

Nikki has worked in the NHS for 20 years and started her career on the Isle of Wight in 1998 as a Project Manager. She since undertook several roles within the Trust covering service and system transformation, and led operational areas across acute and community services including the Deputy Chief Operating Officer before being successfully appointed at the Director of Acute Services in May 2018. During her time working within the public services she has also worked for Portsmouth & SE Hampshire Health Authority, the Isle of Wight Council and for the Isle of Wight Primary Care Trust. Nikki leads the multidisciplinary acute services delivering care on the St Mary’s Hospital site.  She has a doctorate and is a Prince 2 practitioner in programme management.

Simon Barson

Interim Chief Operating Officer

Simon Barson joined the Trust in November 2020 as Divisional Operations Director for Medicine and Urgent Care from Great Western NHS Foundation Trust where he served in the same role. Prior to that, he held a number of roles at Great Western including Divisional Director for Planned Care. He commenced his NHS career in 2007 undertaking a range of administrative posts at both The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where he developed his managerial career and gained experience working in a number of services.

Taff Gidi

Director of Governance and Risk

Taff joined Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in February 2023 as Director of Governance & Risk.  He brings a broad range of experience in governance and corporate affairs roles at board level. He has previously held similar roles at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and at Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust. Before joining the NHS in 2015, Taff previously held roles in financial services, higher education and social housing. 

He is a Non-executive Director at Youth United Foundation. He was previously a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Finance, People & Premises Committee at Horizons Education Trust. In his spare time, Taff volunteers as a Scout Leader. 

Taff is a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute. He also holds a Master of Laws specialising in corporate governance.  He is a qualified Executive Coach and holds Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation with the ICF. He is currently completing the final stage of an MSc Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School.

The Remuneration Committee is chaired by our Chairman. It has delegated authority from the Board to determine the remuneration policy and performance management framework and to set individual remuneration arrangements for the Trust’s executive directors.

The Quality and Performance Committee reviews delivery of key national, local and internal performance targets. The committee oversees clinical quality and effectiveness to drive continuous improvement. It scrutinises specific issues identified by the committee or others to seek assurance on their management or resolution.

The committee reviews financial reporting and management, identifying and monitoring progress against risks relating to these areas. It provides assurance to the board on all significant performance aspects relating to finance and infrastructure as well as reviewing financial aspects of investment proposals.

This committee reviews workforce and organisational development, including monitoring implementation of the trust’s workforce and organisational development strategy and compliance with relevant national standards, regulations and local staffing requirements. This includes a particular focus on safe staffing of the hospital to ensure we provide safe, high quality, patient centred care and that the trust’s strategic priorities and ambitions are delivered in an affordable manner.