Meet our new Chief Executive, James Sumner

Welcome to Team LUHFT, James!

Last month we welcomed James Sumner as the new Chief Executive of Liverpool University Hospitals.

James joins our Trust as an established Chief Executive with significant experience within the health and care sector. Across his 20 years in the NHS, his previous roles include Chief Executive at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Chief Officer of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, as well as a background in primary care and quality improvement.

As he begins his new post here at LUHFT, James is not only bringing with him vast experience from these roles, but also looking to understand and further develop the Trust as we continue on our journey of improving the quality of care and effectiveness of our organisation.

James said: "I’d like to thank everyone who has given me such a friendly and warm welcome. Already from my first few weeks of visiting teams across all of our sites, I can tell that within the organisation there is great passion, community spirit and teamwork.

“There’s definitely a culture here that’s unique to LUHFT, and I am excited to get started on developing this as we take the Trust forward into its next chapter and achieve our ambitions. I understand there have been a lot of changes over the last two years, and want to make it clear that I am making a long-term commitment to you and the organisation.

“Through meeting with many of you I know we have plenty of committed and forward-thinking colleagues who want to better shape and influence the future of healthcare for the people of our city. We have a real opportunity to make a difference whilst on our improvement journey and I want to build real momentum so that every colleague feels they can contribute to the positive change we can achieve.

“Not only can we work to address the significant health inequalities that face our communities, but I want to ensure that you all feel valued and proud to work here. Liverpool is a city with a proud history and ambitious plans for the future, and LUHFT is an important part of that.

“In the very near future we have a lot to look forward to, with continued service integration and preparations for the opening of the New Royal, alongside estate developments at Aintree and Broadgreen.

I’m incredibly proud to be joining the Trust at such an exciting time in its journey, and look forward to working together with you all to build on the brilliant work that is already happening across each of our sites. Together we can fulfil our ambitions of delivering outstanding healthcare for our patients, our families, and our friends.