St George’s appoints new Chief Medical Officer
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Dr Richard Jennings as its new Chief Medical Officer.
Dr Jennings will join St George’s from Whittington Health NHS Trust, where he has been Executive Medical Director since June 2014.
As a practising physician, Dr Jennings specialised in infection and acute medicine, and underwent his training at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Before becoming Executive Medical Director at the Whittington, he held the posts of Clinical Director for medicine and then Deputy Medical Director.
A start date for when Dr Jennings will join the Trust Board at St George’s will be agreed shortly.
Professor Andrew Rhodes continues in his role as Acting Medical Director at the Trust.
Dr Jennings said: “I am delighted to be joining St George’s, and this is a really exciting opportunity.
“Like everyone connected with the organisation, I want St George’s to be the best it can possibly be. I know that it has the most fantastic and caring staff and services, providing some truly outstanding and world-class care.
“I am looking forward to meeting my new colleagues, and the many different staff – both clinical and non-clinical, in the hospital and the community – who care for the people that St George’s serves every day.”
Jacqueline Totterdell, Chief Executive, said: “Richard is a fantastic appointment for the organisation, and will play a crucial role in our improvement journey at the Trust. I was impressed by his ambition, as well as his desire to be part of what we are trying to achieve here at St George’s”.
“We have already moved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement, but St George’s is better than that, and I know our staff and patients want us to provide outstanding care day in, day out, and that remains our aim.”
Jacqueline added: “I would also like to thank Andy Rhodes for the enormous contribution he has made in his role as Acting Medical Director.
“The organisation is better as a result of his efforts, and commitment to providing first rate care for our patients.”
Notes to editors
For more information, please contact our press office on 020 8266 6128 or email Chris Rolfe, Associate Director of Communications (chris.rolfe@stgeorges.nhs.uk).
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest healthcare providers in the UK. Its main site, St George’s Hospital – one of the country’s principal teaching hospitals – is shared with St George’s, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research.
As well as acute hospital services, the trust provides a wide variety of specialist and community hospital based care and a full range of community services to children, adults, older people and people with learning disabilities. These services are provided from Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton, 11 health centres and clinics, schools and nurseries, patients’ homes and Wandsworth Prison.
