South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Chris Hand

Group chief finance officer

Chris is a highly experienced and CCAB-qualified accountant, with over 20 years in senior leadership roles across the public sector. This has included experience in local government, NHS commissioner and provider sectors. Chris has a proven track record of leading major strategic projects during times of challenge and uncertainty, driving financial recovery and improvement. Chris began his career with the NHS national financial management training scheme. He spent his early career working for Northumbria Healthcare, before a secondment at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust. He also spent a period of time working for Northumberland Council, working to support the future direction and shape of the council’s strategy and policy pertaining to finance. Chris joined South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2021 to support a period of uncertainty, responsible for fulfilling the statutory accounting officer responsibilities. In April 2024 he became group chief finance officer for University Hospitals Tees, a collaboration between North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals trusts.

Dr Mike Stewart

Group chief medical officer

Mike is a consultant cardiologist and was chief medical officer at South Tees Hospitals from 2021 to 2024. He served as director of cardiovascular services at Auckland District Health Board from 2019 to 2021. Prior to this, Mike worked at South Tees Hospitals from 1996 to 2018 where he held several clinical leadership roles, most recently as medical director for specialist care. He has a keen interest in education and research and has previously been: To work collectively with health and social care partners to transform health services, reduce preventable health issues and give our patients the very best care when they need it.

Emma Nunez

Group chief nursing officer

Emma is the group chief nursing officer and provides professional leadership of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals across University Hospitals Tees. She works in conjunction with the chief medical officer in ensuring high quality, safe and effective care. Emma is passionate about nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, the impact these professions have on the outcomes for patients and promoting the profession through demonstration of professional standards, values and behaviours. Emma joined University Hospitals Tees from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust where she was executive director of nursing, midwifery and AHPs and deputy chief executive. Emma is a registered midwife, she undertook her clinical training in Northumbria in 1998 and spent the majority of career in the North East. She has held senior positions in provider, commissioning and regulatory organisations regionally and nationally with a particular focus on patient safety and quality improvement. Prior to her role at Harrogate she was the clinical quality director and director of nursing for the North East and Yorkshire region of NHS England and Improvement. Emma lives locally and is committed to ensuring the best quality services for local communities. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Matt Neligan

Group chief strategy officer and deputy CEO

Matt is the chief strategy officer at University Hospitals Tees. This hospital group includes North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts. Matt joined University Hospitals Tees in October 2024 from his role as director of commissioning development for NHS England where he had led the national work on the development of Integrated Care Systems since 2019. He has thirty years of experience in the NHS, starting in acute hospital and primary care operational management roles in Hull and London and then moving into commissioning, strategy and system leadership roles in the South East and then in Yorkshire. He moved into NHS Digital in 2016 to lead work to transform national data and analytical services, and joined NHS England in 2019 to work on primary care and system transformation nationally. He led the programme of work that established and developed integrated care systems in England, working with system leaders across the country.

Neil Atkinson

Managing director

Neil joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust back in 2018 after holding senior positions, more latterly at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

Rachael Metcalf

Group chief people officer

Rachael Metcalf is a Chartered CIPD professional with over 25 years’ experience in the field of people services. She joined South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2004, working at senior level leading several people functions and services. She became director of human resources in September 2018 and was appointed as the group chief people officer in June 2024. Prior to her NHS career, Rachael worked in HR at North Yorkshire Police and started her HR career in an investment bank in Azerbaijan.

Rob Armstrong

Rob Armstrong is chief operating officer at University Hospitals Tees.

Rob Armstrong is chief operating officer at University Hospitals Tees, leading clinical site teams, the emergency planning teams, the deputy chief operating officers and the overseas visitors services. Realise the benefits of University Hospitals Tees Deliver safe, high quality care With more than 20 years of NHS experience, he has held a range of operational leadership roles and has built a strong reputation for improving performance, leading large-scale transformation programmes, and delivering high-quality patient care. Previously deputy chief operating Officer at Harrogate District Foundation Trust, Rob has extensive experience in elective recovery, urgent and emergency care improvement, patient flow, and operational delivery. Before this, Rob was director of operations at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest NHS tertiary providers in the UK. During this time, he led major operational services, delivering improvements in performance, service transformation and patient outcomes across a diverse portfolio of specialties. Rob also gained valuable experience within community healthcare services through his time at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust. Working across community, mental health and partnership services gave him a broader understanding of integrated care and the importance of collaboration across organisational boundaries to improve outcomes for patients and populations.

Russell Nightingale

Chief delivery officer

Russell is the chief delivery officer across University Hospitals Tees, leading the delivery of the group’s clinical service units. I began my career in the fintech sector before discovering my true passion in healthcare, a field where I could use my analytical skills, leadership experience, and curiosity to make a meaningful difference. Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked across seven hospitals in the NHS, focusing on improving operational performance and shaping the cultures in which teams deliver care. What drives me is the intrinsic reward loop, the satisfaction of seeing real improvements in how people work, how patients are supported, and how organisations evolve. I’m continuously learning, always looking for ways to help hospitals operate better and create environments where people can thrive. Become the most productive hospital group in the country : Deliver outstanding value for patients and taxpayers by optimising pathways, reducing unwarranted variation, and using data and innovation to maximise clinical and operational productivity. Achieve the best staff survey results in the NHS : Create a culture where people feel proud, supported, and listened to — driving the highest response rates and the most positive experience scores across UHT. Improve patient satisfaction through listening, adapting, and reducing waiting times -strengthen patient experience by acting on feedback, removing delays, and designing services around what matters most to patients: timely, compassionate, high‑quality care. As one of the largest employers in the region, a thriving trust directly boosts the local economy. By improving productivity, culture, and patient experience, we create stable employment, attract talent, and support local growth — a form of “trickle‑up” economics where strong public services lift the wider community.

Ali Wilson

Non-executive director and vice chair

Ali has a long history of public service, having begun her NHS career as a nurse in the early 1980s. She has held a variety of clinical, managerial and academic positions, leading and evaluating service improvement, major service and organisational change. Before her retirement from a full-time senior leadership role in 2018, Ali was the chief executive officer for NHS Darlington and NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Clinical Commissioning Groups and chair of the North East Leadership Academy. Ali is passionate about leadership development and system working and committed to the delivery of high quality, personalised and effective care both within a hospital and community environment. She has a long-standing interest in harnessing the potential of patient, carer and public involvement, having undertaken a Fulbright Fellowship at the Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota in 2001, which focused on patient and public engagement in the co-design of services.

Celia Weldon

Non-executive director

Celia has 30 years' experience in senior corporate governance and expertise which has been gained in a variety of corporate roles. This includes implementing major change projects both locally and nationally, working in positions including as a chartered accountant, director of corporate affairs, company secretary and an external auditor. Celia is qualified is a fellow of the Corporate Governance Institute (formerly the Institute of Company Secretaries and Administrators) and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She has been an executive and a non-executive board member, covering the roles of senior independent director, chair of audit and risk committee, and chair of finance and performance committee.

David Redpath

Non-executive director

With roots firmly in the North East, David has enjoyed over 20 years in technology leadership and advisory roles around the world. His most recent role as a senior executive partner at research and advisory company Gartner sees him act as strategic advisory to multiple public and private companies in the UK. Prior to this David performed several CIO roles in different industries and served as a non-executive director at Newcastle Building Society and the Nation Union of Students. Married with two children and living in County Durham, David joined the board in January 2021.

Fay Scullion

Non-executive director

Ken Readshaw

Senior independent director

Ken is a chartered accountant with considerable experience of the chemical and power generation sectors, both in the UK and abroad. He was previously audit chair of NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, has several charitable roles, and is passionate about helping to provide communities with the best possible public services.

Mark Dias

Non-executive director

Mark is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and an experienced human resource professional having worked at a senior level in a number of multi-national organisations. Mark's previous roles included EMEA employee relations director for Cummins, HR director for DS Smith and HR business partner at Nuffield Hospitals. A former serving police officer at Cleveland Police and commended for standing up for equality and integrity in policing. He is a self employed consultant providing HR consultancy and mediation services to a range of clients.

Miriam Davidson

Non-executive director

While Miriam is proud of her Australian heritage she has lived and worked happily in the North East for over 35 years. Throughout her career in the NHS (1988 to 2014) and local government (2014 to 2020) she has held senior roles in health improvement and public health. Miriam is a registered specialist in public health and during her post as director of Public Health for Darlington she was also vice chair of the north east branch of the Association of Directors of Public Health. More recently Miriam has supported the North East Public Health Specialty Training Programme (HEE), as head of School of Public Health. Miriam continues to coach, mentor and appraise specialists in public health. Her focus is on health inequalities and the challenge of why health appears to be for some, not all.

Professor Chris Day

Non-executive director

He has held key leadership roles, including serving on the council of the Medical Research Council, the executive of the Medical Schools Council, and chairing the clinical medicine sub-panel for the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). For REF 2021, he chaired the institutional environment pilot panel, assessing research environments at institutional level. In 2025, he chaired the REF people, culture and environment 2029 pilot panel. Professor Day is currently chair of the Russell Group and a former president of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, a member of the council of the All-Party Parliamentary University Group and serves on the advisory board of the UPP Foundation. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, reflecting his contributions to higher education and research.