We are pleased to announce that following a very rigorous recruitment process, Danielle Oum has been appointed the new Chair of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT).
Danielle, who lives in Birmingham, has extensive chair and non-executive experience. She joins the Trust from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust where she has been the Chair since 2016, and Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull where she has been the Chair since 2017. Previously she was the Chair at Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
Danielle has a strong leadership background in strategic development, stakeholder engagement and transformational change spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors. She is passionate about promoting equality and inclusion, particularly within disadvantaged communities.
In her time at Walsall Healthcare, she has been instrumental in helping to bring about meaningful change in service quality, innovation and improvement as well as building a culture of inclusiveness. Danielle also played a key part in the evolution of Walsall Together and working collaboratively with Black Country partners system wide.
Speaking about her appointment, Danielle said “I'm honoured to be appointed to this role, as I have long admired the work of BSMHFT. This is an exciting time to join the organisation with the launch of its new strategy and I am looking forward to supporting the Trust build on its successes. I am committed to listening to and collaborating with service users, carers, staff and other stakeholders as we collectively work to meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve and make the Trust a fantastic place to work where colleagues can flourish."
Current Trust chair Sue Davis said “I am delighted that Danielle will be succeeding me. I know she will bring great enthusiasm and energy to the role, and her experience both of chairing other trusts, and of leading Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull, will enable her to really hit the ground running. I'm sure she will enjoy working at BSMHFT as much as I have over the last nine years”.
Andy Cave, Chief Executive Officer at Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull said “With Danielle’s new appointment as chair of BSMHFT she will be stepping down as Chair of Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull. We would like to thank Danielle for her dedication to patient and public involvement in Birmingham and Solihull, which will be an asset for the Trust. We wish Danielle every success in her new role and look forward to our continued working relationship with BSMHFT”.
Danielle joins the Trust at the end of November, replacing Sue Davis who is stepping down due to the natural end of her tenure.