Chair, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
Chair,
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
United Kingdom
We are on the verge of a defining moment in PAHT’s history. What lies ahead is a journey of transformation and improvement that will lead us successfully into the future, enabling us to deliver modern, integrated and outstanding care that keeps our growing and ageing population healthier.
Against a backdrop of NHS and system transformation, the relentless pace of scientific, technical and clinical innovation, and our amazing opportunity to build a brand-new hospital, we need a strategy that is bold, ambitious and responds to the needs of our local population across West Essex.
Therefore, we are currently developing our revised Clinical Strategy, which will provide our organisational and ‘Place’ roadmap for the next 10 years. It is designed to inspire and challenge us, to guide and unite us in working smarter and better to achieve our vision.
We have already made great progress, but there is much more to do. Now, more than ever, we need to come together as one team, working with our local, regional and national partners, our patients and our communities to make PAHT the centre of excellence we know it can be.
We hope you are excited by the strategy, and eager to embrace the challenges ahead.
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Dear Applicant
Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust.
This is a pivotal time for PAHT and for the communities we serve. We are proud of the dedication and compassion shown every day by our staff, and equally clear about the challenges we face as a busy district general hospital operating in a demanding environment. We are determined to improve further, to strengthen our performance and to deliver consistently high quality care for our population.
The development of our new hospital represents an opportunity to reimagine how we deliver care. While the timeline has extended, our ambition has not. We are continuing to modernise our services, develop our clinical strategy and work closely with partners across the Essex system and beyond to ensure that care is integrated, sustainable and centred on the needs of our communities in line with the NHS 10 Year Plan.
As Chair, you will play a central role in this journey. You will lead our Board with integrity, openness and compassion, ensuring that governance is robust and that we remain focused on quality, safety and financial sustainability. You will provide support and constructive challenge to me and my executive colleagues, helping us to deliver our strategy and to create a culture in which our people can thrive.
The relationship between Chair and Chief Executive is critical. It must be grounded in trust, clarity of roles and a shared commitment to the values of the NHS. Together, we set the tone for the organisation. We must model the behaviours we expect of others and ensure that our Board is inclusive, diverse in thought and experience, and united in its purpose.
Beyond the Trust, you will represent PAHT across our Integrated Care System and within our local communities. Building strong, respectful relationships with partners, patients and staff will be essential. We are an anchor institution in West Essex and have a responsibility not only for healthcare delivery but also for contributing to wider health and wellbeing.
We are seeking a Chair who brings wisdom, resilience and a deep commitment to public service. Someone who is comfortable navigating complexity, who understands the importance of balancing assurance with ambition, and who is motivated by the opportunity to make a tangible difference to people’s lives.
If you believe you can help us lead PAHT through this next phase with integrity and purpose, I would be delighted to receive your application and to explore how we might work together for the benefit of our patients, staff and communities.
With best wishes
Thom Lafferty
Chief Executive -
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), provides a full range of general acute, outpatient and diagnostic services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping.
The Trust employs around 4,000 staff and serves a local population of about 350,000 people living in West Essex and East Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and Epping. The extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.
The Trust is currently part of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), but from 1 April will come under the new NHS Essex ICB, with east Hertfordshire covered by the new Central East ICB.
Strategy
Our current strategy, ‘PAHT 2030’, can be found on the Trust’s website. The Trust is in the process of creating a new strategy, prompted by the three shifts in the NHS 10 Year Plan, local plans and the need to address operational performance.
The core themes of the strategy, ‘RISE’, match those of the 10 Year Plan:
Hospital → Community: moving more care into neighbourhoods and primary care.
Analogue → Digital: accelerating digital tools, AI, remote monitoring and a Single Patient Record.
Sickness → Prevention: tackling long‑term conditions, obesity, smoking and widening early intervention.
This is translated into a PAHT approach of:
Rising hope – creating an environment where our people thrive, where wellbeing is prioritised, and where clinical ambition and innovation are enabled.
Rising communities – reshaped care, closer to home, better integrated with our partners.
Rising standards – higher quality, more consistent and better coordinated acute care.
The sense of ‘rising’ is intended to encompass both the turnaround that is underway and the further improvements needed.
The new strategy will be completed in the summer of 2026. Nonetheless, the Trust has begun engaging with staff on its contents, including in-depth work with all clinical services, to agree headline plans to deliver against it.
Vision and values
The vision and values are listed on the Trust website as part of PAHT 2030. It is important to note that they are changing: the vision through the imminent new Strategy and the values will be refreshed afterwards.
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All applications must include:
A full curriculum vitae/resume
Quoting the relevant role reference number: A041701
A covering letter highlighting the aspects of the job description and PAH 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 PAH’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, UK Managing Director whose details can be found at the bottom of this microsite.
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.
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Closing date: 20th March 2026
Final Interviews: 9th 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.
Please take note of the reference number found under section “How to apply”. This is needed for us to process any application.
Useful information:
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For a confidential discussion on this role please contact:
Thomas Patterson
Managing Director