West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Allison Phillips

Chief Redevelopment Officer

Appointed in December 2024, Allison leads on the Trust's ambitious plans for a new hospital at Watford General, our on-going redevelopment of St Albans, along with progressing plans for a new health campus in Hemel Hempstead and the potential relocation of the Mount Vernon Cancer centre to Watford. Allison has an outstanding track record in managing and delivering large, complex infrastructure projects, including being a key member of the team on the multi-billion-pound Elizabeth Line scheme in London, and has a wealth of experience of working within central government. She joined the NHS since 2020, firstly at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust where she helped establish the Paddington Life Sciences Cluster, before moving onto Barts NHS Trust.

Dr Bethan Rees

Associate Director

Dr Richard Burridge

Acting Chief Information Officer and SIRO

Richard was appointed acting Chief Information Officer in April 2026. A consultant paediatrician in the Children's Emergency Department, Richard has been a consultant with the trust since 2015, having completed much of his clinical training at Watford. He has a proven track record in clinical leadership and staff advocacy, having held the position of Children's Emergency Department Clinical Lead and Guardian of Safe Working for the trust from 2016 to 2023. In 2022, Richard was appointed as the trust's Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO).

Emma Mitchener

Director of Midwifery and Gynaecology Nursing

Emma began her position as Interim Director of Midwifery in February 2024. Prior to this role, she served as the Head of Midwifery at the Trust. Emma qualified as a Midwife in 2008 and has since acquired extensive experience in clinical leadership, taking on various midwifery leadership roles that encompass both operational and strategic responsibilities. Emma is deeply committed to promoting equity and equality in women's health and is dedicated to advancing improvements in this field. She is also actively engaged in initiatives within the local community, where she lives with her family.

Kelly McGovern

Chief Nurse

In addition to her trust-wide role, Kelly was the director of nursing for Broomfield Hospital and also urgent and emergency care clinical director. A local resident, Kelly qualified as a nurse in 2005 and has gained a breadth of clinical leadership experience and held professional nurse leadership positions as well as more operational roles. She has worked at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, East and North Herts NHS Trust and latterly for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

Nick Prior

Associate Director

Rachel Thorman

Chief Operating Officer

Rachel joined West Herts in May 2024 as the chief operating officer. Before taking on the role, Rachel was the Chief Operational Information Officer at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, having joined in 2020 to run the Private Care Division. Rachel started her career as a management consultant for GE Healthcare, before moving into the NHS in a sector transformation role for North West London Integrated Care System. Rachel also led the Division of Medicine and Emergency Care at Hillingdon Hospital.

Rodney Pindai

Chief Financial Officer

Rodney joined West Herts permanently in December 2018, as our Director of Contracts and Commerce (Deputy Chief Finance Officer). He was appointed Chief Finance Officer in January 2025. As a CIMA qualified accountant, Rodney has a long track record for highly effective finance management within complex, organisations facing challenging budgetary pressures. Rodney began his career as an NHS graduate finance trainee in 2006 in Brighton, Sussex, where he worked across a number of sites, and quickly developed a strong sense of pride in working for the NHS. Since then, has held a number of senior leadership roles including at Hillingdon Hospitals NHSFT and is a specialist in finance, efficiency, contracts and commercial partnership and development work.

Saira Shah

Chief People Officer

Saira took up the post of Chief People Officer in September 2024. Prior to that, she was the Director of People and Culture at The Brompton and Harefield Hospitals (part of Guys & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust). She has previously held a series of senior leaderships roles, including Deputy Chief People Officer at the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Saira has over 20 years' HR experience within the NHS and has won multiple national awards for her work in rostering excellence and operational efficiency and productivity. She is a Fellow of the CIPD, an accredited Coach and Mediator, and was named by the CIPD as one of the Top 30 HR Practitioners globally for 2026.

Catherine Pelley

MBE, Non-Executive Director

Catherine joined the board as a non-executive director in 2024. In 2021 Catherine was awarded an MBE for services to nurse leadership. Catherine has worked in the Hertfordshire area across various roles in her career, so is familiar with our patch, our partners and our population. In the early years of her career she was a staff nurse at Mount Vernon before training as a health visitor.

Dan O’Brien

Designate Non-Executive Director

Dan joined the board as a non-executive director in 2026. Dan initially qualified as a Chartered Accountant before taking on more senior financial roles at different companies. Dan has been a Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer for a large company, retiring from his executive roles in 2023. Dan has a personal connection to West Herts, living locally and being treated as a patient himself at all three of our hospital sites. Both of Dan's daughters were born at Watford General, and his wife worked at the Trust for many years as a Paediatric Occupational Therapist. His youngest daughter has joined the NHS Graduate Management Trainee programme.

Edwin Josephs

Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director

Edwin joined the board as a non-executive director in November 2020. He qualified as a chartered management accountant in 1984 and has extensive knowledge of corporate governance, risk and assurance and has held a number of senior financial positions. Edwin has also held senior roles in the public and charity sectors, including at the National Consumer Council and the Legal Services Board and was previously a non-executive board member for Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) UK. Edwin is no stranger to the NHS, having worked for a hospital trust in Buckinghamshire earlier in his career in a variety of roles, including finance and auditing, and senior leadership. He has lived in Abbots Langley for 23 years.

Heather Moulder

Non-Executive Director

Heather joined the Board in 2023 and is a trained nurse, midwife and health visitor. Heather has over 20 years' NHS Executive Board experience in both provider and commissioning organisations, including Deputy Chief Executive for St Albans and Harpenden and Hertsmere Primary Care Trusts and NHS England Director of Nursing and Quality for Hertfordshire and South Midlands. Heather held the position of Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical Chair and established her own consultancy firm in 2015.

Natalie Edwards

Non-Executive Director

Natalie was appointed non-executive director in 2019. She has 20 years' extensive HR experience working in both strategic and operational roles. She has a strong track record of delivering business focused people strategies and transformation change projects. Natalie chairs the trust's people, education and research committee, is a member of the remuneration committee, and is the nominated reserve for the audit committee.

Professor Ann Griffin

Vice Chair

She is a deputy director of University College London Medical School and both a doctor of medicine, on a GP career break, and a doctor of education. As a clinical professor in medical education research, she brings significant experience and expertise in healthcare education, research and consultancy, as both an academic and a healthcare practitioner. Ann is a member of the trust's people, education and research committee and provides oversight to the board on strategy, leadership, finance, and governance, with particular emphasis on championing excellence in education.