Mel joined BTHFT as Chief Executive Officer in November 2019. She qualified as a registered general nurse in 1990 and after a number of clinical roles, worked in management before moving back into a professional nursing leadership role. Initially training as a nurse Mel undertook a variety of clinical and managerial roles joining her first Board as Director of Nursing in The Rotherham Foundation Trust in 2001. Mel continued to work at Board level, taking on a wider portfolio of Director responsibilities, first in Rotherham and then Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust becoming Chief Nurse, Director of Operations and Deputy CEO before taking up her first CEO role in 2007 at the Walton Centre for Neurology & Neurosurgery, a specialist Trust in Liverpool.
Mel has been CEO for the past 19 years in three NHS Foundation Trusts – joining Bradford in November 2019. Mel has a wide breadth of experience and an excellent reputation as a clinician and a leader and a strong track record of building successful collaborations across Health and care sectors. In addition to her role as CEO of the Trust, Mel was also the Place Lead/Accountable Officer for the Bradford District and Craven – ‘Act as One’ Health and Care Partnership up to 30 April 2024. In addition, Mel is a trustee of the Bradford Culture Company responsible for preparing and delivering the Bradford 2025 programme as the city was officially the UK City of Culture.