Publish date: 17 April 2024
Dear colleagues,
It’s not often I write to you with important personal news, but I wanted you to be the first to know that I’ve decided the time is right to step down as Chief Executive Officer at the end of October 2024 and retire.
The last 12 years at Mersey Care have been one of the highlights of my working life and I’d like to thank every one of you for playing your part in our transformation into a major and leading provider of mental health, community, learning disability and addiction services in the North West.
Together, we’ve been through some challenging times including the various acquisitions, building state of the art hospitals, the COVID pandemic and CQC inspections. Yet, as you read this letter, through our collective efforts Mersey Care is now internationally recognised for our restorative just and learning practices, suicide prevention, a leader in digital and data led innovation and have built M-RIC, our mental health research and innovation centre.
In making this decision I’ve reflected a lot on some of the memories from the last 12 years, from those early days of meeting my new colleagues, to building our first hospital at Clock View and all the innovations and new practices we’ve introduced in the years since. I remain proud, inspired and humbled by the care you provide and the work you do that makes such a difference and improves the lives of thousands of people across Cheshire and Merseyside each and every day.
I will be pleased to handover the Trust in good shape with a committed and talented workforce and executive team ready for the next chapter of the Mersey Care story which will undoubtedly bring new challenges and opportunities.
The recruitment process has now started to attract and appoint a new Chief Executive Officer and we’ll keep you updated on this process over the next few months.
I very much look forward to seeing as many of you as possible over the next few months.
In the meantime, thank you all for your ongoing hard work and commitment to our Mersey Care patients and communities.
Yours faithfully,
Joe
