Dudley Integrated Health & Care NHS Trust announces planned retirement of Chief Executive, Paul Assinder

Written on 22 November 2021.

PRESS RELEASE 19 November 2021

Dudley Integrated Health & Care NHS Trust announces planned retirement of Chief Executive, Paul Assinder

Paul Assinder

Paul Assinder, Chief Executive of Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) is retiring at the end of December 2021. Paul who stepped into the role of Chief Executive in April 2020, has led the formation of this new Trust and its expansion over the last two years.

Paul will retire and ultimately make way for a new substantive CEO to lead the Trust going forward. In the meantime, the Trust has appointed Penny Harris as its new Interim Chief Executive.

Penny Harris 2

Penny will be joining DIHC on a part- time basis from Monday 22nd November 2021 and will formally commence in her role on 1 st January 2022, continuing until the end of June 2022. During that time DIHC will recruit to the substantive role of Chief Executive.

Harry Turner, Chair, said “Paul has done a tremendous job leading the organisation as Chief Executive for the past 20 months, including the pandemic and all that entails”.

“The Board and his colleagues are deeply grateful to Paul for his leadership at DIHC and for his significant number of years of dedicated service to the NHS”

Paul added “It has been an absolute privilege to work for the NHS for 38 years and more recently to serve as Chief Executive at DIHC. For me, healthcare is a people business and I have worked with some outstanding colleagues over the years who are committed to providing the best care possible to the communities they serve.

I have always supported the ethos of working across organisations and systems to organise care around the individual. This is integral to our vision for integrated care in Dudley and am proud of what we have achieved so far at DIHC. I look forward to following the completion of DIHC’s journey in the near future”

Paul will remain in place to support Penny until the end of the calendar year. Harry added ‘We are delighted that Penny has agreed to join us at this exciting time, to offer us her valuable experience to take us into our next development phase”.

Penny has extensive experience of working in and alongside the NHS and social care sectors at a senior level, including several CEO positions. Her portfolio has included implementing models to integrate health and social services and more latterly, strategic planning, system management and delivery in support of developing integrated care systems (ICS).

Penny Harris said “I am really looking forward to working with colleagues to develop the services for the population of Dudley and continue to build a strong primary and community care system. DIHC is a truly unique type of Trust, and I am excited to be a part of it.”.

Director of Strategy, People and Partnerships appointed to Dudley Integrated Health & Care NHS Trust Board

Written on 07 September 2021.

Press Release 6th September 2021

Director of Strategy, People and Partnerships appointed to Dudley Integrated Health & Care NHS Trust Board

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) has made its first substantive Board appointment since it became a newly formed NHS Trust in 2020. Stephanie Cartwright has become the Director of Strategy, People and Partnerships with immediate effect. The Trust is the first of its kind in the country to integrate primary care across Dudley with community physical and mental health services.

One of the Trusts key priorities going forward is to develop, with partners, a clear strategy for DIHC, that helps embed the services they offer to provide the best in patient care. This Board role will be an integral position to getting that right especially working towards the award of the Integrated Care Provider (ICP) contract in April 2022.

Paul Assinder, Trust Chief Executive said “Steph has held this role in an interim capacity since April 2020 and over the past months has provided clear leadership, insight and innovation to the Trust. Steph is an extremely talented, committed and hardworking individual and we are delighted that she has accepted our first substantive Board position”.

“Steph will be a crucial part of the senior team here at DIHC and, importantly for me, clearly cares deeply about the organisation and the communities we serve. We are very fortunate to have someone of Steph's calibre on the Board of Directors”.

Harry Turner , Chair of the Trust added "This substantive appointment is a key milestone in the development of our Trust and the establishment of permanent Board of Directors. We have a busy few months ahead recruiting for our other Board posts and we look forward to making further announcements in due course. Having worked with Steph for a couple of years now I am delighted she has accepted the permanent position as I know that she will continue to be a fantastic asset to us".

Steph added 'We have some fantastic, skilled and talented teams within the Trust and I am privileged take on this position and continuing to work with them to ensure staff and services thrive at DIHC. The development of this innovative care model in Dudley and the award of the future ICP contract is an enormous milestone on our calendar and I am excited to play such an important role in achieving this for the benefit of the population we serve.

Stephanie has over 25 years of public sector NHS experience in the NHS and has held Board level Director positions for the last 10 years. Most recently Stephanie was the Managing Director for the development of DIHC as an organisation and has held the position of Interim Director of Operations, Strategy and Partnerships since 1st April 2020 when the organisation started.

Ends

For further information please contact Jayne Ilic , Strategic Communications Advisor 07786 267309 or email

Note to Editors:

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust is the first of its kind in the country; integrating primary care across Dudley with community physical and mental health services. It will have responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the whole population of Dudley, working to an outcomes based contract to delivery its revolutionary services.

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust Board Meeting – June 3rd 2021

Written on 01 June 2021.

The Board of Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust will meet on Thursday, June 3rd at 9.am. The meeting will take place virtually using Microsoft Teams due to Government restrictions on social distancing and the impact of Coronavirus COVID-19.

The Board will be given a presentation on the Iris Project – Primary Care’s response to domestic violence and abuse. They will also receive reports on the organisation’s financial and operational performance and an update on Covid. The papers are available on the website and can be found here

Members of the public are invited to send questions to the Board via

If you would like to attend the virtual board meeting you can request a link via

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust appoints its first lead for End of Life care.

Written on 07 June 2021.

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) has appointed Dr Poonam Tank as its first End of Life and Cancer Lead/Macmillan GP.

Poona Dr Poonam Tank head and shoulders m trained and worked in the East Midlands as a GP before moving to the West Midlands in 2020. She spent time as a medical doctor in the armed forces and has worked as a GP fellow for the Black Country and West Birmingham STP where she was involved in leadership projects to improve dementia diagnosis and support. She is now a GP in Dudley spending time between palliative care, her local practice and as an out of hours GP in Leicestershire.

Poonam said: “I developed an interest in palliative care and was involved in community pathways, local MDTs and caring for patients in the community early in my career. I hope to influence the development of cancer services in Dudley and enhance communication between primary, secondary and tertiary care to promote a seamless service, holistic approach and improved patient care and experience.”

Welcoming her arrival DIHC’s chief executive, Paul Assinder said: “Poonam will be a real asset to our team. She has enormous experience in end of life and cancer care and will help us improve the service we give to Dudley residents.”

Dr Tank joined the Trust on June 7^th 2021.

Mental Health and Covid

Written on 13 May 2021.

Looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health.

As we head back to the new normal following the covid pandemic we need to recognise the impact of covid on our mental health and how it has affected people in different ways.

Members of the public are invited to join a Healthcare Forum meeting at which Dr Becci Lewis, clinical lead for mental health in Dudley will lead a conversation on mental health and covid.

The leads for Dudley’s Primary Care Mental Health Service and Dudley Talking Therapy Service will also be on hand to answer questions.

Attendance is free and is open to anyone in Dudley. The forum will be held online from 4pm on Thursday, May 27^th.

To book a place contact