The Trust’s chief finance officer, Karen Geoghegan is to join NHS England South East as its regional director of finance for NHS England (South East).
Karen has been the executive lead for finance since 2014, firstly at Western Sussex Hospitals, before taking on the role at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and since 2021 University Hospitals Sussex.
Chief executive Dr George Findlay said: “Karen has an exemplary track record as our executive lead for finance and can be immensely proud of her many achievements and the sound financial management she has provided since 2014.
“From the delivery of year-on-year surpluses at Western to supporting financial recovery at BSUH, Karen’s contribution has been invaluable.”
In 2019, Karen’s financial acumen and leadership was recognised on the national stage when Karen won Finance Director of the Year at the National Healthcare Finance Awards.
George added: “At the time, Karen dedicated the award to her colleagues and broader team and, rightly so, she continues to be extremely proud of all they’ve achieved together as a Finance Department.
“They steadied the ship in the extremely turbulent and unpredictable waters of the pandemic, and at the same time managed our money through all the complexity that a large-scale merger presents.
“But Karen’s contribution has extended well beyond her financial remit – as a key member of the Trust board for ten years, including as the executive lead for Facilities and Estates, she has ably contributed to every major decision.
“She has provided strength, stability, and rigour throughout a huge period of change.
For the past three years, Karen has led the Trust’s environmental agenda, overseeing the launch of the Patient First Planet First green plantwo years ago and stalwart efforts by dozens of teams and departments to reduce carbon emissions in a bid to become a net zero organisation.
Her time as CFO has also been characterised by huge investments in services for patients. From Southlands Eye Care to the Louisa Martindale Building, improvements for service users have proved far-reaching.
Karen said: “I am hugely proud to have been able to support the delivery of excellent patient care and the provision of new services, equipment and infrastructure required to ensure we can offer the best we can for the people we serve.
“I will always cherish and reflect with great fondness on my time in Sussex. But I’m also excited by the opportunity to scale my what I’ve learned locally at the regional level, to help ensure people benefit equitably from the sound management of our limited resources.
“I’ll of course miss my colleagues immensely, especially all the wonderful teams in Finance, Estates, Facilities, Capital Planning, Property and the Patient First Planet First green team. I want to thank each and every one of them for all their support and commitment – they’re simply amazing!”
Karen is expected to join NHS England South East later in May and the search for her replacement will begin.