Meet our Executive and Non Executive Directors

Professor Richard Scothon was appointed as Chairman of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust with effect from 1 March 2023, having previously been a Non-Executive Director. With senior oversight experience in Health Research and Innovation, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, as well as Audit and Operational Performance. Richard was previously Chair of the CDDFT Charity and is an advocate for enabling the Charity's fantastic work. Beyond the Trust, Richard has a wide range of community roles, including sitting as a Justice. He holds an MBA from Durham University.

Appointed as Chief Executive on 1 March 2012, having previously held the position of Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at the Trust, Sue Jacques has been a Director of Finance for more than ten years and holds an MA in financial management.

Jeremy is a consultant surgeon at the Trust and has worked for the organisation since 2008.  He has held the position of Care Group Director for Surgery since August 2014. Jeremy trained at St George's hospital medical school in London, graduating in 1995 and then achieved an MD thesis at Hull before completing his higher surgical training in the North East. His clinical interests include general and colorectal surgery with a subspecialist interest in pelvic floor conditions such as rectal prolapse, constipation and incontinence.

Kathryn Burn brings over 25 years of nursing experience to her Executive Director role at CDDFT. Since qualifying as a nurse in 1996, Kathryn has dedicated her career to healthcare in the North East of England, working in Northumbria and Gateshead before joining CDDFT as a Matron in Surgery.

Over her 15 years with the Trust, Kathryn has made significant contributions within surgical specialties, advancing to Associate Director of Nursing for Surgery in 2016. In 2020, she was appointed Deputy Director of Nursing and later took on the role of Director of Quality in 2023.

Kathryn is committed to enhancing patient experience, driving quality improvement, and fostering talent within the organisation. Her leadership reflects a passion for creating a supportive and high-performing environment that delivers high-quality care.

Lorraine has 30 years' experience in the NHS. She brings expertise and experience from a wide range of functions including finance and operational management. Most recently being divisional director for surgery and elective recover lead at a neighbouring trust. Lorraine is also the Trust's Accountable Emergency Officer.

David Brown became Executive Financial Director in 2017 and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants with many years of experience in NHS Finance. He has held positions within Acute Hospitals, Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts and Foundation Trusts.

Appointed 1 June 2016.  Michael is an experienced non-executive director, having served on the Board of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and with the housing association Tees Valley Housing.

A former Principal and Chief Executive of Hartlepool College of Further Education, Michael oversaw the building of the college's new £55m campus, and served on numerous local, regional and national committees in a career that spanned 34 years in further education.  Michael serves on the Boards of two local charities and as a Director of a local primary school.

Shirley brings a wealth of skills and experience in medicine including public health. She qualified as a doctor in 1983 and completed her junior doctor rotation before practicing as a GP. A Master’s Degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine opened up an opportunity to undertake academic healthcare research, which led onto a policy role in the Department of Health focusing on infection control.  In addition to policy development, Shirley has experience with NHS management including oversight of performance and governance of NHS provider organisations. She has also covered an overseas post of Medical Officer for New Zealand. Before joining CDDFT, Shirley also carried out a Non-Executive Director role in the East Midlands.

Ana Naziazena Carvalho de Souza Etchells, Senior Specialist Physiotherapist has been appointed to the newly created role of Associate Non-Executive Director. Ana brings invaluable expertise to support the Trust’s goals in equality, diversity, and inclusion, as well as in reducing health inequalities across our communities. Ana trained as a physiotherapist in Brazil and has gained experience in both the public and private sectors. Ana combines her new responsibilities with her clinical role, continuing her dedication to patient care.

Kathryn has been a Trust governor for eight years, including a period as lead governor, working to ensure patients' and carers' concerns are considered when the Trust is developing strategies and work plans.  Kathryn has spent her career in healthcare, qualifying as a pharmacist in 1983.  She has many years' experience working as a community pharmacist, in NHS management and currently as a primary care pharmacist working within GP practices.

Kathryn is also clinical director for a company providing pharmacy support to GP practices.  She also played a key role in setting up the Listening Friends scheme, a telephone help-line for pharmacists under stress and was one of the national co-ordinators for 20 years.

Lisa began her career as part of the finance department of the then Newcastle Heath Authority at the age of 17. She has gone on to develop a broad knowledge and experience of NHS services working in mental health and learning disabilities across several organisations - all in the North East.  Lisa has held posts including deputy director of Finance and executive director at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation Trust  (CNTWFT) with a wide portfolio that included commissioning, quality assurance, governance, risk and technology.  Lisa also spent seven years as an inspector for the Care Quality Commission.

Appointed 1 June 2018.  Steve began his career in the public sector where he spent ten years working in economic regeneration, bringing inward investment to the North East.  He then took his skills into the private sector working for utility providers, where he developed a specialty in HR, ultimately working at Director level and subsequently working as a HR Director in the aviation sector.

Steve now runs his own HR consultancy, working for clients close to home and as far afield as Kazakhstan.  Steve is also a Non-Executive Director of Port of Tyne and operates his own UK wide mediation practice with a number of UK and European clients in a variety of sectors covering chemicals and processing, transport and logistics. media services, financial services and higher education.  Through a Birmingham-based charity, Steve undertakes mediation for children with special educational needs.

David brings a wealth of experience to his role as non-executive director. He has held roles in retail management and within the media industry. He later became managing director of David Hall Partnership where he led a period of substantial growth. Later taking a key role with A4E, he developed experience and expertise on an international platform before moving his focus to volunteering, serving as a Trustee for various charities and becoming an active member of Rotary Durham.

David chairs the Trust Board Audit Committee, leads on security and business continuity planning, and serves as a workforce wellbeing guardian.