Senior directors who attend the board

Paul joined Newcastle Hospitals in January 2025, from his previous role as chief executive of North Tyneside Council, where he worked for 18 years. Paul's other roles at the council included strategic director of community services and deputy chief executive.

Paul began his career as a civil servant and has worked nationally on large scale business and technology change for the Department for Work and Pensions.

Since moving into local government in 2002, Paul has held responsibility for a wide range of services and numerous complex building and infrastructure projects. These include regenerating the housing stock of two different local authorities and refurbishment of iconic landmarks the Spanish City and Tynemouth Station.

Caroline joined Newcastle Hospitals in October 2018.

Her role encompasses ensuring that the trust communicates well with our patients, staff and other stakeholders. She is also responsible for external affairs and the Newcastle Hospitals charity.

Previously, Caroline has extensive experience of partnership working, communications, public involvement and NHS governance. She has worked in the private and voluntary sectors as well as NHS commissioning and mental health provider organisations.

Martin joined Newcastle Hospitals in October 2018 from national roles at the Department of Health and Social Care, and at NHS England and NHS Improvement, where he was director of strategy / deputy national director for emergency and elective care across England.

Martin supports the development and progress of strategies for clinical services, including how we work in alliance with neighbouring hospital trusts - Northumbria Healthcare, Gateshead Health and North Cumbria Integrated Care - to ensure the best possible care for patients.

He works closely with the medical director, executive chief nurse and other directors to do this.

Martin is also responsible for developing and leading our partnerships with Newcastle City Council, around integrated health and care services.

Martin is a registered nurse and a graduate of the NHS management training scheme. Having grown up and lived most of his life in Newcastle, he worked for a number of years at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust before taking on a number of director roles within the former North East Strategic Health Authority, St George’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and McKinsey & Company.

Patrick joined Newcastle Hospitals in October 2022 as deputy director of business, development and enterprise and became director of performance and governance in September 2024.

Patrick supports the development and leadership of strategic planning, performance, governance and information.

Prior to joining Newcastle Hospitals, Patrick worked for a number of years in planning and clinical transformation roles at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and in a range of operational management roles at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Rachel joined Newcastle Hospitals in December 2024, from her previous post as director of patient safety at Northumbria Healthcare.
Rachel's current role involves leading and supporting work to improve patient safety and quality and core clinical governance functions such as quality account priorities. She leads work to improve clinical effectiveness, such as clinical and national audits, leading teams including: patient safety; quality assurance and clinical effectiveness; compliance and assurance; and legal and committee services.
Rachel previously worked in a variety of roles at Newcastle Hospitals, including as a registered physiotherapist, before becoming
head of quality assurance and clinical effectiveness.

David Elliott is chief digital information officer at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, leading the organisation’s digital, data and technology strategy and delivery.

He also serves as chief digital officer for the Great North Healthcare Alliance, a partnership between Gateshead Health, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trusts, supporting collaborative digital leadership and shared transformation across the region.

Before joining the NHS, David held senior technology leadership roles in the energy sector and served as an Executive Director within a hospitality group, leading digital and transformation. This background has shaped a commercially grounded, outcomes-focused approach to modernisation and service delivery. He brings more than 17 years’ experience delivering technology-enabled change across multiple sectors, and is known for pragmatic decision-making and measurable operational impact.

David was recognised as a CIO 100 Awards UK 2024 winner. Beyond his executive responsibilities, he is a board member of UK IT Leaders and has held a range of non-executive director and advisory positions.