Chair,
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

United Kingdom

Mersey Care is one of the most innovative and progressive NHS trusts in the country.

Mersey Care is a community mental health, learning disability, autism and physical health provider which provides a wide range of community health services together with specialist mental health services across North West England and beyond. Our vision is to lead the way in perfect, whole person care that helps people of all ages live healthier lives.

In six Place areas – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Warrington - we provide a range of specialist mental health and learning disabilities inpatient services and community physical health, mental health, learning disabilities, addiction services together with acquired brain injury services. We also provide secure mental health services for Cheshire and Merseyside, and specialist learning disability and autism services across the North West. We are one of only three trusts in the country that provide high secure mental health services.

As with all NHS organisations we are increasing working in partnership with our neighbouring providers, for example through the Cheshire & Merseyside Provider Collaborative, the North Mersey Provider Partnership and the Cheshire & Wirral Partnership / Mersey Care Provider Partnership.

Over the ten years Mersey Care has grown significantly, and our external environment has continued to change, with the lasting impact of a pandemic and associated social and economic changes, and the creation of Integrated Care Systems and ‘Place’ based decision making for health and care services.

We know and understand more about population health and the needs of our communities than we did a decade ago and will require the collective efforts of our partners to address and help people to live healthier lives.

In 2023, we refreshed our strategy to set out what kind of organisation we want to be in 2028. Given our size and complexity, it’s never been more important to have a simple set of focussed priorities to help us get the basics right balanced alongside ambitious goals for the years ahead. The strategy wheel on this page summarises our vision and strategy.

Although Mersey Care has around 1,000 learning disability, mental health and physical care beds, we are a fundamentally a community-based organisation, key to health and wider prosperity in the Places we serve.

We have a tremendous opportunity to consider ‘total health’ for the people we serve - wellbeing, physical health, mental health, learning disabilities and neurodiversity - and to become more preventative and co-ordinated in the care we provide through our unique blend of all-age services and relationships with our partners. Our expertise in data and technology, for example in our leading telehealth platform, will allow us to transform care for people with long term conditions; and our success in attracting new investment in mental health research will allow us to bring new interventions and treatments to our communities.

The Trust is continuing to deliver a programme of organisational and service transformation to delivery our strategy and to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so. We call this continuous improvement in quality and cost, striving for perfect care. We also aim to play a full part in the health and social care economies we serve by promoting and driving greater integration between mental and physical health and social care.

Dear Candidate
Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. This is a significant leadership position within one of the strongest and most distinctive mental health, community and secure care providers in the country, and we are pleased that you are considering applying.
Mersey Care is a large, complex and ambitious foundation trust, providing local mental health, learning disability, autism and community physical health services to more than 1.4 million people across Cheshire and Merseyside, together with specialist learning disability and autism services across the North West. We are also one of three trusts in the country that provide high secure mental health services. Our services reach some of the most diverse communities in England, and our purpose is rooted in delivering excellent, safe, and compassionate care that improves lives and addresses deep rooted health inequalities.
We are well led, caring, and financially disciplined, however operate in one of the most challenging systems in the NHS. We have grown rapidly over recent years, both in scale and responsibility, and we continue to focus on embedding consistency, strengthening culture and delivering transformation at pace while maintaining high standards of quality and safety. Our commitment to a restorative just and learning culture underpins how we lead, how we improve and how we support our people.
We are now seeking a new Chair to lead the Board of Directors and the Council of Governors through the next phase of our journey. This is a role that calls for sound judgement, emotional intelligence and a deep commitment to public service. You will work closely with the Chief Executive and Executive Team, supporting and challenging them in equal measure, and ensuring that the Board remains focused on the outcomes that matter most to patients, service users, carers, staff and communities.
As Chair, you will also play a vital ambassadorial role for the Trust, building trusted relationships across the Cheshire and Merseyside system and beyond. Partnership working is central to Mersey Care’s model, whether through collaboration with NHS partners, local authorities, the voluntary sector or through influencing and securing support for major capital investment that underpins safe and modern care environments.
We are looking for someone who brings senior board level experience, ideally as a NED within the NHS, and who is committed to mental health and community services. Just as importantly, we are seeking a Chair whose values align with ours, who leads with humility and confidence, and who is visible, approachable and inclusive in their leadership.
This is an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to a high performing trust with a strong sense of purpose, and to help shape the future of health and care for the communities we serve. We very much look forward to learning more about you and the perspective you could bring to Mersey Care.
Yours sincerely
David Fillingham CBE
Interim Chair
Please click here to review and download this document
Closing date:‍ ‍Thursday 12th March 2026
Stakeholder session: w/c 13th April 2026 - TBC
The Trust intends to ask shortlisted candidates to present to three Stakeholder Panels during w/c 13 April, feedback from which will help inform the Nomination Group interviews candidates. These are
- a service users, carers and public panel
- a staff panel
- a wider stakeholders panel (i.e. representatives from local authorities and other local providers)
These will be held via Ms-Teams, and details and themes will be provided at the same time as candidates are notified if they have been shortlisted
Final Interviews: Monday 20th April 2026
Following the interviews, the Nominations Group will then make their recommendation to the full Council of Governors, who are responsible for appointing the Chair. The Council is meeting on Wednesday 22nd April 2026.
Please ensure you have made a note of the final interview date(s). We recommend that you bookmark this microsite, as any potential updates regarding the role will be posted online.
All applications must include:
• A full curriculum vitae/resume
• Quoting the relevant role reference number: A041639
• A covering letter highlighting the aspects of the job description and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust that particularly attract you to the post (Microsoft Word document)
• Contact details for three referees, these will not be contacted without your permission. (References should validate a minimum period of six years employment)
• A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (which you will be redirected to once you have submitted your application) *
Right to work checks
If you are successfully shortlisted, our partner, Yoti, will contact you to complete an online right to work check. This is a quick and secure process, ensuring that all necessary legal requirements are met before proceeding further in the recruitment process.
*Monitoring
One of Alumni Global’s and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust’s objectives is to ensure that its workforce is reflective of the local community and therefore we actively encourage applications from under-represented groups. So that we can successfully achieve these aims, while it is not mandatory we would encourage every applicant to complete the “Equal Opportunities Monitoring form” so that we can measure the effectiveness of our efforts. The Recruiting Manager does not have access to the Monitoring Information Sections of the application form at any stage of the process and the information provided will be kept entirely confidential.
For a confidential discussion on this role please contact:
Thomas Patterson, Managing Director or Michael Earnshaw, Director of Research whose details are at the bottom of this page.
Candidate adjustment
If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made as part of the recruitment process please can you advise us so that we can ensure this is accommodated.
Personal Data
In line with GDPR, we ask that you do NOT send us any information that can identify children or any of your sensitive personal data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health or sex life and sexual orientation, genetic and/or biometric data) in your CV and application documentation.