We are pleased to announce our final Board appointment to NHS Dorset. We have successfully appointed Debbie Simmons to the role of Chief Nursing Officer Designate.

Debbie joins us from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS) where she has been working for the past 9 years. Her current role of Interim Chief Nurse follows several other senior positions held, including Nurse Director for the four CCGs in Berkshire West, through their ‘wave one’ ICS journey and onto the establishment of the BOB ICS. Prior to this Debbie worked as Assistant Director Quality & Clinical Excellence at Hounslow & Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Debbie has been a registered nurse since 1985, celebrating her 40th anniversary as a nurse this year. She has studied at Exeter University where she received Diploma of Higher Education (Midwifery), University of Reading – Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Community Health Studies (Health Visiting) – and Brunel University where she was awarded a Master of Arts in Law & Society (specialising on Child Protection) in 2005.

We would like to share our congratulations to Debbie and thank everyone involved in the recruitment process for this and all our Chief Officer posts as we launch NHS Dorset on Friday 1 July.

Debbie has kindly written a few words which we wanted to share with you:

“I am thrilled to be joining NHS Dorset at this exciting time and am very much looking forward to working with our Dorset partners to improve health outcomes for everyone living in the county. Everyone I have spoken to during the recruitment process has impressed me with their passion and commitment to the NHS in the face of some well documented challenges and I hope to be able to meet and work with as many of you as possible over the coming weeks and into the future as we develop as an organisation.”

We would like to share our congratulations to Debbie and thank everyone involved in the recruitment process for this and all our Chief Officer posts as we launch NHS Dorset on Friday 1 July.

Thank you.

Jenni Douglas-Todd

Chair Designate

NHS Dorset

Patricia Miller OBE

Chief Executive Designate

NHS Dorset