Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust

Carlene Holden

Director of People and Organisational Development

Carlene is passionate about creating the right environment for our colleagues to thrive to improve their morale, staff engagement and the patient care which we deliver. She is an experienced human resources practitioner who has undertaken further academic studies in both employment law and management and leadership. Carlene is also a qualified coach and mediator as well as the vice chair of governors at a local secondary school, a role which she has undertaken on a voluntary basis for the last four years.

Dr Diarmid Sinclair

Chief Medical Officer

After completing his training in 2015, he joined Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) as a Consultant Psychiatrist working on our adult mental health unit in Rotherham. He became an associate medical director in 2020 and later became deputy medical director in March 2023. He continues to work clinically in acute services working for the Crisis and Home Treatment teams in Rotherham.

Dr Judith Graham

Director of Psychological Professionals and Therapies

Judith has extensive experience in leading system change and quality improvement. She is an executive coach qualified in the Tavistock Model which utilises a systems-psychodynamic approach. Judith is also a registered mental health nurse, has a post graduate bachelor’s degree in forensic and intensive mental health care, a post graduate master’s degree in cognitive behavioural psychotherapy, a second master’s degree in advanced clinical practice, and a professional doctorate in psychotherapy. Judith is a registered human resources practitioner and has chartered MCIPD status with the chartered institute of personnel and development and has also completed the top managers programme at the Kings Fund. Judith was a pathfinder freedom to speak up (FTSU) guardian and established and provided leadership for the Yorkshire and Humber FTSU network for four years. This work was awarded the health service journal FTSU organisation of the year 2020. Judith has been active in working with national and local partners to support the development of health and wellbeing services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Judith was awarded the British Empire medal in the 2021 Queen’s new year’s honours associated with this work. Judith has been published in scholarly heath journals and has presented at national and international conferences on mental health issues, specifically regarding personality disorder, complex trauma, prescribing ethics, systems leadership and health inequality. Judith was awarded the title of Queen’s nurse in 2015 and is a trustee on the board of the Queen’s nursing institute. Judith has also held the role elected clinical board member of the NHS confederations mental health network board and has served for six years in this role. Judith is passionate about service user and professional education. Clinical teaching and supervision is also a core part of her work, and she has lectured at several universities on various mental health topics. Judith has also been a Clinical Fellow with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2020 to 2022. Judith is the baby friendly guardian for the trust, this is a role defined by UNICEF as an essential role in terms of the service we provide for parents and families and also our workforce support.

Joanne McDonough

Director of Strategic Development

Since joining the trust, Joanne has held a number of roles including deputy director for business assurance, head of business services unit and care group director for Doncaster. She moved into the director of strategy role in 2020 which includes responsibility for strategic development and communications. Joanne holds a masters in business administration (MBA).

Philip Gowland

Director of Corporate Assurance and Board Secretary

Prior to joining the trust Philip was internal audit manager for a number of NHS organisations having worked for Internal audit consortia across both South and West Yorkshire. Philip is a member of the Institute of chartered secretaries and administrators (ICSA), a qualified accountant with the chartered institute of public finance and accountancy (CPFA), and holds a degree in accounting and management control from Sheffield Hallam University.

Richard Chillery

Chief Operating Officer

Richard was previously the deputy chief operating officer at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, where he was also a Morecambe Bay poverty truth commissioner. He has also been a non-executive director for Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust for the last four years.

Simon Sheppard

Director of Finance and Estates

He has also held senior finance roles at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Simon is a qualified accountant (CPFA) with the Institute of Chartered Public Finance and Accountancy.

Steve Forsyth

Chief Nurse

Over the last two decades, Steve has worked in criminal justice, physical health and mental health services. A registered nurse in both adult nursing and mental health, Steve is a qualified best interest assessor and is trained to carry out eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR). Steve’s nursing career began in 1997 with his nurse training and a role as a care assistant. He was inspired by his mother, Inderjit, who came to the UK from India in October 1959, qualified as a nurse in 1975 and is still practising almost 50 years later. Steve is a member of the national global majority chief nurse officer group, an active and proud member of the Jabali network, the Nola Ishmael executive nurses group, Asian professionals national alliance (APNA) and British Indian nurses association (BINA), the Gambian force and a director for the African Caribbean community initiative.

Dave Vallance

Non-Executive Director, Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director

Dave has built up a vast range of human resources experience through working for over 20 years with Walgreen boots alliance, most recently as human resources director, global brands. He is particularly experienced in organisation transformations, and in putting in place HR policies and processes that enable high performance and increase customer and patient care. He previously worked in the NHS for the audit commission for 5 years, evaluating the value for money of a range of health and local government organisations. He has been a trustee of one of the largest UK pension schemes, a school governor and holds a master’s in business administration and a bachelor’s in organisation studies.

Dr Richard Falk

Non-Executive Director

Dr Rumit Shah

Associate Non-Executive Director

Kathryn Gillatt

Non-Executive Director

Kathryn is also currently a non-executive director at NHS business services authority.

Maria Clark

Non-Executive Director

Maria is also active as an Associate Hospital Manager at a local NHS Mental Health Trust and Chair of the Independent Review Panel (school exclusions) and school appeals panel member in Barnsley.

Pauline Vickers

Non-Executive Director, Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director

Pauline joined the trust in April 2021, prior to that she was a non-executive director and senior independent director with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She worked for Royal Mail since graduating in 1985 across a range of leadership and commercial executive roles, most recently as export director for Royal Mail’s international business, with accountability to grow the export business across 230 countries worldwide. Pauline now enjoys a portfolio career as an accredited executive coach and is an end point assessor for the business sales degree apprenticeship courses at Leeds Trinity and Middlesex Universities. She holds a degree in management science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, a post graduate diploma in personnel training and development from Leeds Metropolitan University and is a chartered member of the institute of personnel and development. Pauline has a passion for diversity and inclusion, and during her career she has chaired a range of women’s networks to support the success of women.

Rachael Blake

Non-Executive Director

Rachael has lived and worked in North Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire since 2002.

Sarah Fulton Tindall

Non-Executive Director

She has a strong executive level professional services delivery background in the higher education sector, with a broad experience of operating within complex, highly regulated and dynamic people-based environments for public and societal benefit, underpinned with a wide and diverse stakeholder base. Sarah spent overs 20 years in a wide range of leadership roles at the University of Sheffield, and more latterly advising universities both in the UK and overseas. Sarah has extensive experience in leading successful organisation-wide strategy, business transformation and people talent growth. Sarah is a former trustee and director of Age UK Sheffield and former director of CASEwork Services Community Interest Company, which provides business support to the charities and social enterprises sector. Sarah holds a BA (Hons) in politics and social policy from the University of Sheffield.

Shabir Pandor

NExT Director

Beyond his council leadership, Shabir has over 25 years’ experience in Local Government and the NHS. He was Director of his own company delivering large capital projects within the NHS. His extensive professional background includes specialized experience within the NHS developing and delivering capital programmes, infrastructure development, estate improvements, regeneration and housing. This technical foundation is complemented by high-level academic credentials, including Postgraduate qualifications in Management, Public Sector Modernisation, and Housing. He is a Corporate Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (MCIH). Throughout his career, Shabir successfully bridged the gap between local government, healthcare, private sector, and voluntary and community sector championing “local wealth building” and pioneering integrated social care models to drive sustainable urban regeneration and community resilience.