A CHILD and adolescent consultant psychiatrist has been appointed as the new medical director at North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Sandeep Ranote, who has worked at the Trust for 12 years and is director of clinical networks, will join the board on April 1 when current medical director Dr Louise Sell retires.

She aims to be a positive role model for ethnic minorities and women who aspire to achieve leadership roles within the NHS, while also representing the diverse communities served by the trust.

Dr Ranote said: “During the current medical recruitment crisis I hope to be able to incentivise the next generation to begin a career with us and see the progress and positive difference they could make.”

She intends to harness the strengths of the medical workforce to further develop the trust as a place doctors aspire to work and students want to come and train.

She said: “I’m excited about the challenges and opportunities ahead as the NHS changes focus to integrated care systems and partnership working wrapped around communities. It’s crucial the medical workforce is part of this new way of working.”

Dr Ranote will continue her role as the strategic clinical network lead for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services across Greater Manchester, working with Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

She will also continue with a clinical role as an expert for young people’s eating disorders.

She added: “It’s easy to become disconnected from the frontline. My new role is about being an advocate for the patient – for care, safety, quality and risk – I believe I will be in a position to do this more effectively if I remain close to delivery and am able to see and hear issues and concerns first hand.”

Dr Sell will retire after almost seven years as the trust’s medical director. During this time she has led the move to becoming a smokefree trust and developed robust internal procedures to ensure lessons are learned from incidents to improve patient safety and quality of care.

Simon Barber, chief executive at North West Boroughs Healthcare, said: “Louise has provided strong medical leadership within the trust and has enhanced our processes to ensure delivery of safe, quality care to patients.

“It is testimony to the development of medical leadership during her time with us that we have been able to appoint her successor from within.

“I look forward to welcoming Sandeep to the trust board in April. Her appointment further enhances the diversity of our board – which is already 81 per cent female.

“It also ensures we better represent the communities in which we deliver services and supports our commitment to the national NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard.”