AH ANNUAL REPORT 2018

Louise Shepherd CBE - Chief Executive
Louise joined Alder Hey as Chief Executive in March
2008, since when she has led the Trust through a
major transformation into Europe’s only Children’s
Health Park, designed by and for children and young
people and opened by Her Majesty the Queen in
2016. The Park aims to provide a unique wellbeing and
healing environment for all children and young people
and comprises a state of the art specialist children’s
hospital, dedicated research and education facilities,
an innovation centre, clinical research facility and family
support and bereavement centre.
Previously CEO of Liverpool Women’s Hospital,
Louise first joined the NHS as Director of Business
Development at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in
1993 from KPMG, where she spent four years as a
financial and management consultant to the public
sector. A qualified accountant, Louise was Director of
Finance at the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation
Trust before she took over as CEO at Liverpool
Women’s Hospital. From March 2016 Louise was the
lead for the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability
and Transformation Programme, working with partners
across the system to take forward the NHS Five Year
Forward View in the local area. She stepped down from
this role in May 2017.
A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Louise has
a strong interest in the Arts and served on the Board
of The Liverpool Philharmonic for six years and plays
violin for the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra. Louise was
awarded a CBE for services to Healthcare in 2017.
Executive Directors
Dr Steve Ryan - Medical Director
Having graduated from the University of Leeds, Steve
completed his medical training as a paediatrician in
and around Leeds and Manchester. He took up his first
consultant role in Liverpool working as an academic
and general and neonatal paediatrician. He developed
a major interest in the use of effective communication
skills, joining the faculty established by Merseyside
GPs.
Subsequently he focussed his clinical work on general
paediatrics, establishing a headache specialist service
and a service for the medical treatment of brittle
bone disease. Increasingly interested in leadership he
was first appointed as Medical Director of Alder Hey
Children’s Hospital in 2004, and was there when it
became a Foundation Trust in 2008. At about that time
he was invited to be Clinical Chair of the Next Stage
(Darzi) National review subsequently becoming the
Deputy Medical Director for NHS North West England.
In 2010 Steve was appointed as Medical Director at
Barts and the London NHS Trust, then in 2012 as Barts
Health’s inaugural Medical Director. He maintained a
long-standing interest in public health and appointed a
Director of Public Health to his team to join a Director
of Primary Care. Steve aimed to work closely with local
GPs to build more effective care pathways, as well
as facilitating reconfiguration of specialist cancer and
cardiac services.
During 2015 Steve was Strategic Transformation Lead
for the Healthy London Partnership for Mental Health
Care Transformation for children and young people –
supporting the implementation of the national strategy
“Future in Mind” across London. He has also supported
the clinical leaders in two London STPs, been a
governing body member of Barking and Dagenham
and Havering CCGs and acted as an adviser to the a
Royal Free Hospital on clinical equipment procurement.
Steve returned to Alder Hey as interim Medical Director
in April 2017.
Hilda Gwilliams - Chief Nurse
Hilda joined Alder Hey in February 2013 as Deputy
Director of Nursing and has was appointed as Chief
Nurse in 2017. Formerly, Hilda was deputy Director of
Nursing at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust for three
years where she gained experience in moving hospital
services from an old build to a new purpose built
hospital. She qualified as a nurse in 1984 and spent a
number of years in a variety of clinical roles in surgical
specialties including neurosurgical intensive care. Hilda
has maintained strong educational links and continues
to provide professional guidance in relation to ‘fitness
for practice’ concerns pertaining to students at local
HEI’s. Hilda holds an MSc in Health and Social Care
from Edge Hill University.
John Grinnell - Director of Finance and Deputy
Chief Executive
John joined Alder Hey in April 2017 as Director of
Finance and Deputy Chief Executive. His NHS career
began via the National Finance Graduate Trainee
scheme, and he has worked in a variety of roles,
including the Deputy Director of Performance at the
University Hospital of North Staffordshire, and Deputy
Director of Finance at South Manchester University
Hospital.
He joined The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt
Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation (RJAH) Trust
in Oswestry as Director of Finance in 2008 and played
a key role in supporting the organisation’s successful
Foundation Trust application. He also worked with the
Strategic Orthopaedic Alliance (SOA) to ensure that the
voice of specialist orthopaedic providers is heard within
the national financial agenda.
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust 28
Annual Report & Accounts 2017/18