20 Jan 2021

Dorothy Hosein has stepped down as chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, following a period of ill health.

Dr Tom Davis, medical director and deputy chief executive, will continue as interim chief executive while the recruitment process for a substantive chief executive takes place.

Recruitment process

The process to recruit a permanent chief executive for the Trust is expected to start at the end of this month, with the appointment of a successful candidate expected in April 2021.

Dorothy joined the Trust as interim chief executive in 2018, and was appointed to the role permanently in 2019.

Authority comment

Under Dorothy's leadership, the Trust witnessed significant improvement in its performance

Nicola Scrivings, Chair of EEAST said: “On behalf of the Board of EEAST, I would like to thank Dorothy for her leadership which has enabled the Trust to deliver significant improvements to the Trust’s performance during her time as chief executive."

Under her leadership, the Trust moved from being the worst performing ambulance trust in England to one that regularly met and even outperformed national standards."

"Staff recruitment and finances also improved, and new approaches to leadership meant the Trust was as well positioned as possible to meet the challenges of COVID-19.We send Dorothy our warmest wishes for the future.”

Dorothy shares her experience

Dorothy said: “It is with great sadness that I have decided to relinquish my post to focus on my wellbeing - staff are at the heart of this service, and it has been an absolute pleasure working with employees of EEAST.

I am hugely proud and thankful for the work we have done together to improve patient safety and experience, and I wish every success for EEAST in the future.”