THE chief executive of three hospitals in mid and south Essex has been ranked fourth out of the top 50 NHS leaders in England. The leading health publication, Health Service Journal (HSJ), rated chief executives for their achievements in challenging times, and awarded Clare Panniker fourth place.
Clare is chief executive of Basildon University Hospital Foundation Trust, Southend University Hospital Foundation Trust and Mid Essex Hospital Services Trust in Chelmsford.
She joined Basildon University Hospital in September 2012. Less than two years later, the Trust was taken out of special measures after it received a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission and was the first in the country to be awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating for its maternity care.
She was appointed chief executive of Mid Essex Hospital Trust in April 2016 and of Southend University Hospital Trust in January this year.
These appointments followed the agreement by the three hospital trust boards to appoint a single chief executive and executive team, responsible for delivering the acute programme within the Mid and South Essex Success Regime in a collaborative effort to improve specialist health services for patients in the area
According to the HSJ analysis, one of the standout trends to emerge from this year’s ranking of the NHS’s top 50 chief executives was how the top leaders are increasingly running more than one organisation.
The chief executives were judged on three main criteria: the performance of their trust; their contribution to the wider health economy or the NHS; and their personal example.
In 2014, Clare was named as one of HSJ’s Inspirational Women in Healthcare and short- listed for chief executive of the year. She is a trained nurse with a business degree who mentors other aspiring NHS leaders, in both clinical and management roles.
