A Closer Look at the People Involved
When a hospital board considers dismantling life-saving services, you'd expect those decision-makers to understand the community they serve. You'd expect them to know what it means for a Brixham fisherman to reach Exeter during a heart attack. Or for an elderly Paignton resident to make repeated journeys for cardiac care. You'd expect at least some of them to live in the communities that would lose these services.
You'd be wrong.
An examination of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust's Board of Trustees reveals a striking pattern: not a single trustee lists Torbay as their location. Plymouth, Exeter, South Hams, Teignbridge, Totnes, even Saltash in Cornwall - but not Torbay itself.
More concerning still are the multiple connections to Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital - the very institution that would absorb Torbay's cardiac services under the proposed changes. The Deputy CEO spent a decade at RD&E. The Chief Nurse worked there as Assistant Director. Board members hold positions at Exeter College, Exeter-based charities, and the Devon ICB headquartered in Exeter.
These aren't accusations of impropriety - these are documented professional histories available on the Trust's own website. But they raise an obvious question: when the board votes on whether to move Torbay's nationally-ranked cardiac unit to a lower-performing Exeter hospital, whose interests are they representing?
These aren't accusations of impropriety - these are documented professional histories available on the Trust's own website. But they raise an obvious question: when the board votes on whether to move Torbay's nationally-ranked cardiac unit to a lower-performing Exeter hospital, whose interests are they representing?
Non-Executive Directors
Chris Balch
South Hams
Emeritus Professor of Planning at Plymouth University - "His interest lies in tackling the under-performance of places and managing positive change within professional organisations and communities."
Martin Beaman
Exeter
Graduated in Medicine from King's College Hospital in London in 1979. He undertook his postgraduate training in London, the Midlands and Manchester before moving to Exeter as a Consultant Physician and Nephrologist.
Liz Edwards-Smith
Plymouth
Trustee at Citizens Advice Plymouth. Guided transformation of Age UK Plymouth including collaboration with local government and health to establish a Short Term Care Centre providing step-up / step-down care as part of the city's health and social care system.
Ashish Ghadiali
Totnes
Contributes regularly to The Guardian and The Observer newspapers. Founder/director of Radical Ecology, Lead Governor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Exeter College, founder and co-Chair of the Black Atlantic Innovation Network at University College, London. A volunteer youth worker at the Mount Wise Neighbourhood Centre in Devonport, Plymouth. A visiting Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. He has directed films for the BBC and the BFI and creates immersive film installations for public venues across South Devon including The Box in Plymouth, the Markethall in Devonport, Plymouth and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.
Mark Greaves
Plymouth
Chairs the PKF UK & Ireland network of independent accounting firms as well as chairing the board at Delt Shared Services, a back office shared services business jointly owned by Plymouth City Council and NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (Exeter). He also hosts a podcast series called Business Noodles and is a governor at Arts University Plymouth.
Paul Richards
Teignbridge
Chair of the One Devon EPR Board, a joint programme across the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (The trust that operates Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital), University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, and NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (Exeter).
Chris Saxby
Saltash
Worked in Plymouth and New Zealand. He is a Governor at City College Plymouth.
Robert Williams
Exeter
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustee for Step One Charity (Exeter), former Chair of Governors for a large school for children with complex learning needs in Berkshire. 20 years at Denton Williams ltd (Exeter) and acumen7 (Leighton Buzzard).
Executives
Joe Teape
Chief Executive
Previously Chief Operating Officer at University Hospital Southampton. Prior to 2019, he was Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations of a large health board in Wales.
Adel Jones
Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer
Former Integration Director, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust (Jul 2009 - Jul 2019 · 10 yrs), previously clinical services manager at the emergency department and acute medical unit at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust.
James Corrigan
Interim Chief Finance Officer
Held senior finance positions across acute, tertiary, ambulance and mental health trusts—including Cambridge University Hospitals, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London and London Ambulance Service.
Dr Catherine ("Kate") Lissett
Chief Medical Officer
Previously Registrar in the Manchester region, working at a number of hospitals in Greater Manchester. During this time she also completed a qualification in Medical Education from Cardiff University. Prior to this, Kate completed a research Doctorate at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, and worked in Nottingham and Sheffield, having qualified in Medicine from Sheffield in 1993.
Emily Long
Director of Corporate Governance and Trust Secretary
Formerly of British Marine Federation (Egham), Capita Registrars (Exeter), LiveWest (Exeter), Leonardo (Yeovil).
Nicola McMinn
Chief Nurse
Worked at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital as the Assistant Director of Nursing for Medicine and prior to that at the University Hospital Plymouth as the Head of Midwifery.
The Only Local Voice
Simon Tapley
Chief Strategy and Planning Officer
Born in Paignton, Simon joined the NHS in 1993 with one of our predecessor organisations, South Devon Healthcare Trust.
One voice among many. The sole executive with genuine Torbay roots is Simon Tapley. When decisions are made about Torbay's future, will his voice be heard?