Priory Announces The Appointment Of Two Non-Executive Directors

Priory-part-of-Median-JPG-logo

Priory is delighted to announce the appointment of two independent non-executive directors to its operating boards from 1 June 2022. Dr Olu-Segun Olasode will join the Adult Care Operating Board and Heather Tierney-Moore OBE, the Healthcare Operating Board.

This is the first time since 2016 that Priory has had non-executive directors. These key roles are part of the organisation’s commitment to quality, operational consistency and becoming the leading European provider of mental health and rehabilitative services, as part of MEDIAN.

Both non-executive directors have been appointed based on their vast professional experience across health and social care, and commercial organisations.

Dr Olasode has over 32 years of executive leadership experience, alongside 25 years as non-executive director and chairman of audit and governance, within several healthcare, social care, housing, communities, and private sector organisations. These include: the Care Quality Commission, the Audit Commission, NHS Trusts, and local and central government.

He is a chartered accountant, economist, and leadership consultant. He was one of the five government-appointed commissioners that led the development of the new regulatory model for social care and mental health services. In addition to his current executive role as Group Chief Executive Officer of TL First Consulting Group, Dr Olasode is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Integrated Audit and Governance with East Kent University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Independent Chair of Audit and Governance with the London Borough of Croydon Council.

Speaking of his appointment Dr Olasode said:

“I am delighted to be appointed as the Adult Social Care NED at Priory and to contribute to ensuring some of the most vulnerable people in society are able to live fulfilling lives, as independently as possible.

“I was attracted to this role because of Priory’s colleagueship, highly profession culture, its values of striving for excellence, and its focus on putting people first.

“I look forward to supporting Priory and providing effective challenge to the Adult Care Operating Board as we continue to deliver high quality, outcomes-driven services, and work with our service users, their families, staff colleagues, regulators, commissioners and other partners to evidence continuous improvement in outcomes, effective models of care across the pathway and people-centred policies.”

Heather Tierney-Moore OBE has had a long and distinguished career working at Trust, regional and national level across the NHS in England and Scotland. Heather now has a portfolio of non-executive and strategic advisory roles including Interim Chair for NHS Supply Chain. With 25 years of board experience and 10 years non-executive board experience, Heather began her career as a nurse. She is National Patron for the Positive Practice Mental Health Collaborative and has extensive experience in healthcare having been CEO for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and Director at NHS Lothian Board and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. Heather has held a number of non-executive positions including Director at Community Integrated Care and NHS Confederation, and Trustee for Black Stork/The DNRC Charity. She was honoured by the Queen in 2002 for services to Healthcare.

Speaking of her appointment, Heather Tierney-Moore OBE, said:
“I am pleased to join Priory as Non-Executive Director in the Healthcare Division at an exciting point in the company’s history. I’ve been impressed by the organisation’s positive culture, values and its openness to receiving independent advice and support.

“I am extremely passionate about mental health and the importance of providing high quality, safe services to vulnerable people, which is more important than ever since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I have been struck by both Priory and Median’s focus on rehabilitation and the total wellbeing of patients and services users – both physical and psychological. I am a passionate advocate for looking at the whole person when designing and delivering care, having experienced the importance of this first hand when I was a Macmillan Breast Cancer Nurse.

“I am looking forward to using my years of experience in healthcare to add value to Priory’s work and cultivate even stronger relationships with the NHS and the communities we serve.”

 

Dr. André Schmidt, Group CEO MEDIAN, said:

“These two non-executive director appointments are really significant in bringing a greater degree of challenge and scrutiny to our work, alongside enormous expertise, to ensure we move forward and deliver on our commitment to become the leading European provider of high-quality mental health and rehabilitative services.”

 

Rebekah Cresswell, CEO of Priory, said:

“I am very much looking forward to welcoming Olu and Heather to such influential roles, which I see as a real milestone in Priory’s journey. I sought to embed this governance model into our organisation, as I believe both divisions of our business will benefit enormously from the challenge to our thinking that our new non-executive directors will bring – alongside their vast knowledge and experience of health and social care.

“Having independent, strategic input and diversifying our leadership, demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest quality to every service user and resident we support, and further evolving our values-based culture at Priory.”

 About Priory and MEDIAN

Priory is the UK’s leading independent provider of mental health services. It treats more than 70 conditions including depression, anxiety, addictions, and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across its nationwide network of sites. It is also one of the leading providers of specialist residential adult care, and is organised into two divisions – Priory Healthcare, and Priory Adult Care.

 

Priory is part of MEDIAN, one of Europe’s leading providers of high-quality mental health and medical rehabilitative services. Overall there are 443 facilities in MEDIAN, comprising 307 Priory facilities in the United Kingdom, and 122 facilities in Germany, and approximately 35,000 employees, caring for 260,000 patients.

 

MEDIAN’s clinics and facilities in Germany comprise 19,200 beds and treatment places and approx. 15,000 employees in 13 federal states. MEDIAN is Germany’s largest private

operator of rehabilitation, neurology and orthopaedic treatments and together with Priory, stands for modern, quality rehabilitation at the highest level. MEDIAN is also participating in the management of patients who have experienced symptoms of Covid-19, and/or suffered with Long Covid. It is sharing its knowledge and expertise globally via its information website for medical professionals and Covid-19/Long Covid patients: www.long-covid.de