Chief executive to step down from Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

The chief executive of Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is stepping down from his role in December after 12 years.

Tom Cahill, a mental health nurse by background, joined HPFT in 2005 as Director of Nursing and Performance, before becoming Deputy Chief Executive and then Chief Executive in 2009.

He is one of the longest serving CEOs in the NHS East of England region and within mental health and learning disability trusts in England.

Under Tom’s leadership, HPFT has developed a track record of high quality, innovative and safe care underpinned by a consistently strong financial foundation.

The Trust was rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in 2019 and was awarded the title of the Health Service Journal’s Mental Health Trust of the Year for 2020.

Tom himself was named as the Health Service Journal’s Chief Executive of the Year in 2017 and is still one of the HSJ’s top 50 NHS CEOs.

Tom is well known to many colleagues across the health and social care systems.

He was the Chief Executive of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (now the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System) and has served on the Board of NHS Providers.

Tom said: “When I look back over my time at the Trust, I have a deep sense of pride about what we have achieved together.

"There is much to reflect on – launching our Single Point of Access for people experiencing a mental health crisis, improving our environments for young people and for people with dementia, providing state of the art inpatient facilities and expanding our services into Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk are just a few.

"Receiving an Outstanding rating from the CQC and being named as Mental Health Trust of the Year are particular highlights.

"I want to pay tribute to my colleagues in the Trust. We have only been able to achieve these things by working together as a team, no more so than in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am immensely grateful to everyone at HPFT and could not be prouder. I also want to thank colleagues in our partner trusts and across the systems we work in for their support and encouragement.”

Sarah Betteley, Chair of Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said: “Tom has been a simply outstanding Chief Executive. I would like to thank him for everything he has done, not just for the people we serve, but for our colleagues within and outside the Trust.

"We will all miss Tom greatly, but we know the Trust in a strong position and has a very capable and committed leadership team.

“A national recruitment campaign is now under way to find a new Chief Executive for the Trust who will build on the strong legacy which Tom leaves.”

The Trust provides health and social care for over 40,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and Essex.

It delivers a range of nationally commissioned specialist services, including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services and medium and low secure learning disabilities services.