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The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for governing and leading the organisation. Their main role is to guide the overall strategic direction of North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT).
The Board is made up of directors, including the Chief Executive, who are full-time senior staff, together with an Independent Non-Executive Chair and Non-Executive Directors who hold part-time positions.
NBT’s Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Directors are also the Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Directors of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) NHS Foundation Trust, holding joint roles across the two organisations.
Meet our Executive Directors and Group Non-Executive Directors.
The number of Non-Executive Directors and voting Executive Directors is set by North Bristol NHS Trust’s Establishment Order.
The Executive Directors bring expertise to key areas of the Trust and oversee the day-to-day operation of the organisation, while the Chair and Non-Executive Directors offer skills and experience from a wide variety of roles within the wider community. The Trust Chair has specific duties and responsibilities for the effective leadership of the Board, and creating the conditions necessary for overall board and individual director effectiveness. This includes the duty to lead effective governance at organisational level.
Since we formed Bristol NHS Group, NBT's Board meets in common with the Board of UHBW, meaning that the Two Boards meet together at the same time and place, and have a shared agenda.
The Board's key functions are:
- To set the vision and strategic direction for the Trust, define objectives, and agree plans for the Trust.
- To monitor performance and ensure corrective action is taken where performance needs to be improved.
- To ensure the Trust makes best use of the resources made available to us by the taxpayer.
- To ensure high standards of corporate and quality governance so the services we provide are safe and of a high quality.
The key committees that feed into Board can be seen here.
More information about the Trust Board, its balance, completeness and appropriateness to the requirements of the trust is included within our Annual Reports and Standing Orders available elsewhere on the website.
Group Chair
Ingrid Barker
A qualified social worker, Ingrid has over 25 years of NHS board level experience. This has included roles as Chair at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Joint Chair of Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust and ²gether NHS Foundation Trust and as a Non-Executive Director of NHS Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust. She is also an active Governor at the University of Gloucestershire.
Ingrid’s drive and commitment to the provision of high-quality services, accessible to all, is evidenced in her national policy and service redevelopment roles, notably leading on the transformation of mental health services community provision. She was also a Trustee and Board member of NHS Providers between 2013 and 2021, elected to represent Community Trusts across England.
Ingrid started in her role as Group Chair on 1 June 2024.
Group Chief Executive
Maria Kane OBE
Maria Kane OBE was appointed as Joint Chief Executive of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in July 2024. Prior to this she was Chief Executive of NBT from April 2021.
Maria previously worked as Chief Executive of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust from 2017 until 2021, as Chief Executive of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust between 2007 and 2017, and as Executive Director at North West London Strategic Health Authority between 2002 and 2006. Maria has held a variety of senior roles in corporate and strategic development for the Royal College of Midwives, Medical Protection Society and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.
In 2019, Maria was made an OBE for services to health care leadership over two decades, particularly in North London.
Maria has played a major role in system leadership, having been Chair of Bristol Health Partners, a member of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, and a member of Health Innovation West of England. She is also the South West representative for the NHS Genomics Board, and a previous member of the NHS Impact National Improvement Board.
Maria has previously been a trustee of Open Door, Umbrella Mental Health, and Young Minds, as well as an adviser to the Lullaby Trust and a special adviser to the Care Quality Commission. She was also chair of governors of a primary school for ten years.
Hospital Managing Director, NBT
Glyn Howells
Glyn has significant Board and senior leadership experience in both the private and public sectors, with over 14 years NHS experience in both commissioning and provider organisations in addition to more than 10 years of Board level Director roles in the commercial world. His experience covers multiple portfolios including finance, estates, IMT projects and operations. He joined NBT in 2019 initially in the Finance function including being Chief Finance Officer since 2021. More recently, Glyn was appointed Interim Hospital Managing Director for NBT in September 2024 providing overall site-based leadership during the transition to Group, promoting a culture of collaboration across the organisation and wider health and social care system.
