Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS appoint new chief executive

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Tim Welch as its new chief executive.

Tim has 29 years of experience in the NHS, 19 of them as a director and is currently the Trust’s deputy chief executive and director of business and value. He will assume the role following the retirement of Sheena Cumiskey on 18^th May, who is stepping down after serving as chief executive for 12 years.

Speaking about his appointment, Tim said: “I am thrilled and humbled to be appointed as CWP’s new chief executive.  I care deeply about CWP, both the people who work here, the people we serve, and it is the best organisation I have worked for.

“I am motivated by how I can help everyone do the best they can in caring for the people who need our support. CWP’s vision and values are fantastic. I believe in our work on improving the lives of everyone in our community – a genuine commitment to put patients at the heart of everything we do and working collaboratively to get the best for them.

“The last two years have been challenging for all of us in different ways due to the pandemic. However, nothing has been more important, nor rewarding than recently listening and talking to people as part of our engagement programme, ‘Imagining the Future’ to set the strategic direction for the Trust moving forwards.

“I’m looking forward to spending lots more time with colleagues, partners, service users and people in our communities in the months ahead. The skills and spirit shown by everyone is really inspiring and I’m excited to lead this work as part of a talented and dedicated team.”

Lancashire born, Tim attended the University of Liverpool to study biochemistry and eventually took a route into accounting, starting his career as a graduate within financial management in Norwich Health Authority. He found his way back to Lancashire as deputy chief executive and director of finance at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, before joining CWP in 2013.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Tim has worked collaboratively with partner organisations to get the best answers for the people CWP cares for. Tim is the Digital lead for CWP and has led various workstreams across the Cheshire and Merseyside finance community.

Isla Wilson, CWP chair, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Tim Welch as our new chief executive. Tim is hugely respected both within CWP and across the Cheshire and Merseyside footprint.

“Since joining CWP at the beginning of the year, I’ve been inspired by Tim’s values of care and co-production. He shows huge ambition for CWP and the people we serve. He brings to the role a deep understanding of our focus and priorities and I’m really looking forward to working more closely together over the years to come.

“I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Sheena Cumiskey, who retires next month after 12 years as chief executive. Under Sheena’s leadership, CWP has gone from strength to strength and is the only North West mental health and community trust rated as ‘Outstanding for Caring’ by the Care Quality Commission.”

• Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) provides health and care services for local people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care – including the provision of three GP surgeries.
• CWP has services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton and Liverpool – and provide specialist services for the North West as a whole. This includes leading two Lead Provider Collaboratives for eating disorders (North West) and CAMHS Tier 4 (Cheshire and Merseyside).
• The Trust has over 14,500 members and employs more than 3,900 staff across 60 sites, serving a population of over 1 million people and highly specialist services for 2 million.
• CWP was rated as being 'Outstanding' for caring  by the Care Quality Commission in our most recent inspection in 2020 and was a finalist for Mental Health Provider of the Year in 2019 at the Health Service Journal Awards.

Pictured - Tim Welch.