Worthing and Southlands hospitals chief wins top award

The chief executive of the trust that runs Worthing and Southlands hospitals has been named Chief Executive of the Year at the Health Service Journal Awards.
Marianne Griffiths with awards host Sue Perkins and Daniel Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers. Photo: Tom Howard photography.Marianne Griffiths with awards host Sue Perkins and Daniel Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers. Photo: Tom Howard photography.
Marianne Griffiths with awards host Sue Perkins and Daniel Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers. Photo: Tom Howard photography.

Marianne Griffiths, chief executive of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was found by judges to be a ‘selfless and devoted’ leader who inspired and supported staff to do their best for patients.

Speaking after the event, she said: “I am overwhelmed and humbled to receive such a prestigious award.”

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“We are providing our patients with some of the very best care in the country and the support I receive from our staff, committed to always making things better for the people we serve, is what makes this award all the more special.

“I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all my colleagues, as well as the HSJ Awards judges for their acknowledgement of what we are achieving at Western Sussex Hospitals.”

Formed from a merger in 2009, the trust has gone from strength to strength under Marianne’s leadership, culminating in an Outstanding award from the Care Quality Commission earlier this year, an accolade only four other acute hospital trusts in England have received from the health watchdog.

Trust chairman, Mike Viggers, nominated Marianne to publicly acknowledge her inspirational leadership and the significant improvements in patient care she has fostered at Western Sussex Hospitals over the past eight years.

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Mike told the judges: “Marianne is without question the most selfless and devoted leader you could hope for in ensuring the best possible hospital care for our patients and our community, instilling pride back into the hospitals of West Sussex. If just one word was available to define the person it would simply be ‘inspirational’.”

The trust’s new Emergency Floors were also shortlisted for an award, in the Acute Sector Innovation category, in recognition of their contribution to meeting the needs of an increasingl elderly population.

Alastair McLellan, Editor of the Health Service Journal Awards, said: “In this year of unremitting toil and increasing pressure, the entries to the HSJ Awards have once again touched record levels. Becoming an HSJ Awards finalist has never been tougher or more worthy of celebration.

“The excellence represented this evening demonstrates the NHS remains both brave and bold in meeting the challenges that rising demand presents for all modern healthcare systems. It also underlines the ambition found in every sector and region of the NHS to improve patient outcomes, experience and safety.”

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