Simon Ashton to leave Newham for top job in new trust
Simon Ashton is to step down from running Newham Hospital later this year and step up to a major new post leading one of the country’s biggest NHS ambulance services.
After just over four years in charge at Newham, he has been appointed the first chief executive for the new group ambulance service that covers the whole of South East England.
This is bringing together two NHS foundation trusts, South East Coast, which covers Kent, Sussex, Surrey and part of Hampshire, and South Central, which covers the rest of Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxford.
Simon has worked for Barts Health in a variety of leadership roles since the trust was created. He originally trained as a physiotherapist and joined the staff at Whipps Cross Hospital in 2001, five years after qualifying.
At the merger in 2012 he became director of allied health professionals for the new clinical support services division, progressing to be director of operations in 2015 and subsequently managing director in 2017.
Simon said: “I have spent the last 25 years in our hospitals and it will be a huge wrench to leave all those fantastic colleagues I have worked alongside over that time. I am especially going to miss the diversity and vibrancy of our amazing community of people at Newham hospital, of which I am so proud to have been a part.
“The resilience, compassion, and ambition of teams here, through some of the most challenging years the NHS has faced, is genuinely humbling. I will always have a soft spot for east London.”
Shane DeGaris, group chief executive of Barts Health, said: "Congratulations to Simon, this is a tremendous career opportunity and all his executive colleagues are extremely pleased for him.
"He has done a great job leading the team at Newham, managing often difficult and challenging circumstances - from Covid when he took over back in 2020, to the latest operational pressures. I particularly admire his people skills, and I see his journey with us as an exemplar of how our group model offers personal development opportunities over time."
Simon will take up his new appointment in the autumn and arrangements for a successor will be announced in due course.