Welcome to our Board

 

The Board is accountable for our vision, strategy, operational management, and financial decisions. We have a unitary Board which consists of fourteen Board Members including the Chair, six voting Non -Executive Directors, and seven voting Executive Directors.

 

Executive Directors 

Our Executive Directors are responsible for the day to day management of the Trust and are also part of the Board. They are led by the Chief Executive. 

 

Non-Executive Directors 

Non-Executive Directors ensure that the Board acts in the best interests of our patients and community. They are appointed based on their skill and experience for a specific term. 

 

Trust Chair

The Trust Chair, who is a Non-Executive Director holds a dual role as Chair of the Board of Directors as well as the Council of Governors. This means that the Chair is responsible for leading both the Board and the Council of Governors to ensure that they are working together effectively.

Additionally, the Board also includes a Deputy Chair who deputises for the Chair when appropriate and a Senior Independent Director (SID) who is appointed by the Board made in consultation with the Council of Governors. The SID should act as the point of contact with the Board of Directors if Governors have concerns which approaches through normal channels have failed to resolve or for which such approaches are inappropriate. The SID may also act as the point of contact with the Board for Governors when they discuss for example the Chair's performance.

The Board works closely with our Council of Governors who represents the views of our local community.

 

Contacting the Board 

All Board members may be contacted via the Contact Us page here. 

 

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Stephen Otter

Stephen Otter

Chair

Stephen joined the Board of Directors of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in January 2023.

Stephen is an experienced leader and non executive director with extensive experience and understanding of the justice and healthcare sectors, and substantial expertise in organisational governance. Alongside his Chair’s role, Stephen is a non executive director with Seetec, an employee-owned company delivering public services in the UK and Ireland. He is also lead advisor with Interpeace on a project to strengthen peace and security in Ethiopia, and prior to that was the senior rule of law advisor with The Asia Foundation on an urban safety project in Myanmar. From 2012 to 2016, Stephen was one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary, responsible for inspecting UK policing and law enforcement in areas which included the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, and counter-terrorism policing. Prior to this, he was the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, where he combined leading the 6,000-strong police force with being the national lead on equality, diversity and human rights for the UK’s Association of Chief Police Offi cers. In 2008, Stephen was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. He holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics, and a postgraduate diploma in Criminology from Cambridge University.