Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has welcomed two new non-executive Board appointments to help make a positive difference to patients and their families across the borough’s communities.

Fiona Allinson and Rachel Barber have joined as Associate Non-Executive Directors and both attended their first Trust Board meeting earlier this month.

Qualifying as a nurse in the late 1980s, Fiona’s passion to ensure a high-quality service for patients led her to apply for the post.

She has played a part in regulating the organisation after joining the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2005 as part-time inspector, rising through the organisation to become a Deputy Chief Inspector in the hospitals’ directorate.

Fiona has a background steeped in healthcare after working in a variety of settings including Surgery, Theatres, Intensive Care and the Emergency Department.

She held many roles before becoming a sister on a rehabilitation ward. In 1999 she joined the private sector as a Matron of a private hospital before leaving to set up her own training and development business.

During this time, she worked with further education settings to design and deliver the Registered Managers course.

She has always been a nurse at heart, however, and returned to work in Intensive Care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rachel has considerable board experience in the public and private sector and holds several non-executive director and advisor roles within the housing and police sectors.

As a lay member sitting on governing bodies acting as an advocate for public interests, she has experience within the NHS at Walsall Local Commissioning Board part of the Black Country Integrated Care Board and was formerly part of Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group.

She has also held senior executive positions within the water sector, achieving successful transformation, improving services, achieving high customer satisfaction and continuous improvement across a diverse base.

Professor David Loughton CBE, Group Chief Executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and partners The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, welcomed them.

“We are delighted that Fiona and Rachel are joining our Trust Board,” he said. “They bring with them a wealth of expertise in different sectors and we are all looking forward to working with – and learning from – them as we improve, shape and grow healthcare services for our population.

“Our Non-Executive Directors are key in holding the Executive Team to account through constructive scrutiny and challenge and they are integral to helping us to create a healthy culture for the organisation.

“I know they will be warmly welcomed by colleagues across our hospital, community and primary care services.”