Chief Executive, Dame Marianne Griffiths, who leads Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) and Western Sussex Hospitals (WSHT), was named as one of the top five chief executives of the year in the HSJ awards for 2021.
Chair, Alan McCarthy, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Marianne’s leadership has once again been recognised in this way. Since 2017, she has been focused on the continuous improvement of all our patient services across both trusts. During this time, WSHT became the first ever non-specialist acute hospital trust to be rated Outstanding by the CQC in all key inspection areas and BSUH jumped three inspection ratings to Good overall, and Outstanding for caring.”
The ranking, which was announced weeks before the two trusts are proposing to merge into University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, was decided by a high-powered judging panel. These included NHS England chief operating officer Amanda Pritchard, Care Quality Commission chief inspector of hospitals Ted Baker and Royal College of Physicians president Andrew Goddard.
Dame Marianne Griffiths said: “This recognition is a true testament to the incredible dedication and exemplary compassion and care our staff have shown over the last year, during one of the most challenging times in our history. Now, as we plan to come together as a new single organisation, I look forward to us all embracing the many opportunities we have before us to further improve care of our patients and each other.”
Chiefs were judged on the performance of their organisations, their leadership style and their contribution to the wider health system during the pandemic.
Dame Marianne Griffiths, became the first woman to take the top spot in the 2018 rankings, and retained the number one spot in 2019. She came third in 2017.
