South Western Ambulance Services appoints a non-executive director

South Western Ambulance Service, which provides pre-hospital emergency and urgent care services to the population of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new member to its Trust Board.

Mr Hugh Hood has been successful in securing this prestigious role with the Trust and started in post on 1 January 2010. His contract runs for four years until 31st December 2013.

His remuneration is £6096 per annum and he brings a wealth of knowledge to the service's well established senior management team. Hugh lives in West Moors, Dorset and his area of expertise is Human Resources. He joins the service at an exciting time during its application process to become an NHS Foundation Trust.

Hugh is a qualified HR practitioner who has extensive business experience in both the public and private sectors, where he has been instrumental in defining and delivering substantial change programmes. His accomplishments include: HR Director for British Telecom Wholesale, Group HR Director for Transport for London, Director of the LT Pension Trustee Company, Head of HR Service Operations Barclays Bank PLC and Programme Manager Avionics training design Royal Air Force.

Currently Hugh is a BT Wholesale Executive Board member and is part of BT Group's HR leadership team with key input on BT's strategy for the future. He holds an MSc in Digital Systems Engineering and BSc in Physics from the University of Manchester, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

The Trust's Chairman Heather Strawbridge is pleased to announce Hugh's appointment and says "Congratulations to Hugh on his appointment to the Trust. On behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome him. The knowledge and skills that he brings are very much valued and we look forward to working with him. Hugh joins us during our NHS Foundation Trust application process, which is an exciting time."

This appointment has been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. All non-executive appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointee's political activity to be made public. In the case of this appointment no political activity has been declared and no other ministerial appointments are held.