THE WOMAN charged with raising standards at the troubled Isle of Wight NHS Trust has just been appointed its permanent chief executive.

Maggie Oldham was appointed interim Chief Executive when the trust went into special measures earlier this year.

Maggie said, “I am really delighted to be joining the IW NHS Trust on

a permanent basis. Contributing to the delivery of services through our

integrated Trust is a hugely exciting opportunity for me.

"Time has flown since I joined the Trust on an interim basis in May. Whilst I recognise the challenges facing health care services across the Island are significant I have been made extremely welcome, and I remain immensely impressed by the commitment and determination that our staff have shown to improve the services we provide for our community. I will continue to focus all our combined efforts on continuous quality improvement both for patients and staff. My overall ambition is for the Trust to be recognised as providing ‘Outstanding’ services for the people we serve and to be an ‘employer of choice’ for staff. I recognise that to achieve this there will be a period of rapid and often intense change and development which will affect everyone who works and volunteers for the Trust, and I am grateful for everyone’s continued commitment and support.”

Maggie began her career within the NHS as a nurse in 1983 and has a Master’s degree in Healthcare Law and Ethics, a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education. She is particularly experienced at supporting NHS Trusts that face significant challenges. She joined the leadership team at Mid Staffordshire Hospital in 2010, after the care failures of 2007-9 came to light and became the Chief Executive of the Trust in 2013 having made significant improvements, and helped develop sustainable services for the Staffordshire area.

Trust Chair Vaughan Thomas said: “Maggie stood out amongst a strong field of candidates. I am delighted that we have been able to appoint someone with such a wealth of relevant experience to the permanent role. Maggie and the other new Directors have made a strong start and this appointment provides stability and continuity at this critical time for the Trust. I am confident that

Maggie will to deliver the leadership and vision the Trust needs.”