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Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has appointed two new directors to its senior leadership team.

Martin Wilson has taken up the post of Chief Operating Officer, while Caroline Docking is the Trust’s new Director of Communications and Engagement. Both are expected to start in the autumn.

Martin, who is a registered nurse, brings with him a considerable wealth of experience at both regional and national level in the NHS and will join the Trust from NHS England and NHS Improvement, where he was the national Director of Strategy/Deputy National Director for Elective and Emergency Care.

The 41-year-old, who was born in Newcastle General Hospital and continues to have a home on the outskirts of the City, said: “I am really looking forward to joining the team and taking on this new role for the Trust as Chief Operating Officer.

“Newcastle is a fantastic place and the Trust is truly outstanding. It could have been a tough decision to give up my current national role, but the attraction of coming back to the north east, for this job, in this trust – meant it was too good an offer to turn down.”

During his career, Martin has held numerous management and strategic roles including the Regional Director of Flu Resilience, Regional Director of Operations, QIPP and Transformation for NHS North East, senior management consultant for McKinsey & Company and the Executive Director responsible for operations in two large London tertiary Foundation Trusts (St George’s and University College London Hospitals (UCLH).

Passionate about patient care and quality, he has also led governance reviews on behalf of Monitor - the independent regulator of Foundation Trusts - and worked closely with the Secretary of State from 2016-2018, as the senior civil servant responsible for overall NHS performance and operational delivery across emergency and elective care.

His focus will be on Newcastle Hospitals’ performance and the successful delivery of its services and targets to ensure the Trust continues to deliver outstanding care for its patients.

Caroline joins the organisation from Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust where she was Deputy Director of Communications and Corporate Relations and a fantastic advocate for staff, services, service users and carers.

An expert in both internal and external communications, Caroline will lead the Trust’s communication function; ensuring staff are engaged with the organisation’s vision for the future, and leading on work to further promote our strong reputation for research, innovation and clinical excellence as well as strengthening partnership engagement.

She said: “I’m really proud to work in the NHS and am very excited to be joining the Trust. I look forward to working with colleagues, both to serve the local community as well as further enhance its world-class reputation."

Trust Chief Executive Dame Jackie Daniel said: “It’s great to welcome Martin and Caroline to our organisation. Newcastle Hospitals is renowned for the quality of services it provides and our excellent staff and their appointment signals the next phase of the evolution of our Trust.”