Royal Brompton and Harefield Non-Executive Directors join Trust Board

Three Non-Executive Directors from Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust have been appointed to serve on the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Board of Directors.

The appointment of Baroness Sally Morgan, Simon Friend, and Javed Khan follows the merger of the two NHS Foundation Trusts, which was approved by the Boards and Councils of Governors of both organisations in December 2020.

These appointments take effect from 1 February, as part of the creation of a newly expanded Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, with Royal Brompton and Harefield forming a new Clinical Group within the Trust.

Since 2017, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal Brompton and Harefield have been working together, and with colleagues across King’s Health Partners, to develop plans to transform care for adults and children with heart and lung disease. This merger is a key step towards achieving these ambitions.

Baroness Sally Morgan was appointed Chair of Royal Brompton and Harefield in 2017 and has been appointed Deputy Chair of the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Board alongside Dr Priya Singh who was appointed a Non-Executive Director at the Trust in 2015.

Baroness Morgan has served as minister of state in the Cabinet Office and director of government relations at 10 Downing Street. Since leaving government in 2005 she has been a board member in the private, public and charity sectors. She was Chair of OFSTED, board member of the Olympic Delivery Authority, chaired the House of Lord’s Select Committee on Digital Skills, was a member of the Science and Technology Select Committee and is Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. She was made a life peer in 2001. 

Simon Friend was appointed deputy Chair of Royal Brompton and Harefield and Chair of its Audit committee in 2017. He is a chartered accountant and was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where his career spanned more than 30 years. He has extensive experience of finance, governance and audit in healthcare, pharmaceutical and life sciences settings, leading PwC’s Global Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Industry Group, and was a member of PwC’s UK and Global Board.

Javed Khan joined Royal Brompton and Harefield in 2019 as a Non-Executive Director. He is Chief Executive of the charity Barnardo’s, leading a staff of over 8,000 and more than 20,000 volunteers. His previous roles include Chief Executive of Victim Support, executive director of the London Serious Youth Violence Board and director of education at Harrow Council.  He has also been a member of the advisory board for the Children’s Commissioner for England and the governing body of Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group and served on the Government’s Grenfell Recovery Taskforce.   

Their appointments were approved by the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Council of Governors on 27 January and take effect from 1 February. Their appointments will run until the end of their current term of appointment, after which they will be eligible for a second and final term of four years.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is also keen to retain the experience and expertise of the other Non-Executive Directors who have served on the Royal Brompton and Harefield Board. They will, therefore be invited to become Non-Executive Advisers on the new Royal Brompton and Harefield Clinical Group Board, which will be a Committee of the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Board and chaired by Baroness Morgan.

Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We are delighted to welcome these new Non-Executive Directors to our Trust and that Baroness Sally Morgan has agreed to serve as Deputy Chair. They will each bring a fantastic range of expertise, as well as invaluable continuity that will strengthen and enhance the skills of our existing Board and Trust as we embark upon this exciting new chapter in the history of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal Brompton and Harefield.

“The opportunities that the coming together of our two organisations bring are immense, with significant benefits for our patients, staff and the communities we serve, both now and in the future.”