Vice Chair appointed for CLCH

CLCH is pleased to announce that Dick Sorabji has been appointed as the Trust’s Vice Chair.

Following a fair and open recruitment process, the appointment was made by NHS England.

Dick replaces Carol Cole, who steps down as CLCH’s Vice Chair in July 2024 after 10 years as a member of the Trust Board.

Dick has worked in public policy and management across five decades and joins CLCH from NHS South West London Integrated Care System, where he was a Non Executive Director (NED).

Commenting on his appointment as Vice Chair of CLCH Dick Sorabji said:

“This is a huge honour. I am delighted to be joining the staff who have made CLCH what it is today.

The NHS needs to adapt so that it acts earlier to keep people healthier. Community care is critical to achieving this change. The CLCH vision of getting great care closer to home is at the cutting edge of that ambition.

Faster innovation and closer collaboration with our partners in local government and the third sector will be vital and I look forward to working together to provide the best care for our patients and communities in London and Hertfordshire.”

Tom Kibasi, Chair-in-Common of CLCH, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and West London Trust, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Dick Sorabji as Vice Chair of CLCH. Dick’s outstanding record in local government and the NHS will be immensely valuable to the Trust and to the Collaborative. He will play a crucial role in our plans to work more closely with our partners to raise the quality of care for the people and communities that we serve.”

James Benson, Chief Executive Officer of CLCH, said:

“Dick Sorabji brings a wealth of experience to the role and will continue to ensure CLCH is a well-led organisation that maintains good governance. I look forward to working with him closely to benefit our staff, patients and communities. I want to thank Carol Cole for her commitment and dedication to the CLCH board over the last 10 years and the support she has provided to me in this and previous roles.”

Dick joins the CLCH Board in June 2024.

More information about Dick Sorabji

Dick Sorabji has worked in public policy and management across five decades. In the 1980s he was the Parliamentary Adviser to the Shadow Health Secretary. He was elected a councillor in Lambeth becoming leader in 1988.

In the 1990s he joined the faculty of Imperial College Business School, where he was founding Director of the first Cabinet Office sponsored Public Service MBA. His research addressed the challenge of public service improvement in the UK and around the world.

Following a brief spell in corporate finance, Dick returned to public policy in 2003 joining think tanks LGIU and later NLGN, where he became Deputy Director in 2006. In 2008 he joined London Councils as a Corporate Director and later Deputy and Acting Chief Executive.

At London Councils he advised the London Boroughs in their engagement with all London public services. In work with health partners, he helped create the London Health Board, was on the team negotiating London’s Health devolution agreements with HM Treasury in 2015 and 2017, was the local government SRO agreeing the London Health Vision in 2019, and was a member of London’s cross sector partnership forums used through the pandemic.

In 2022 he became a Non Executive Member of the Board of South West London Integrated Care System at its launch and chaired the Finance and Planning Committee until May 2024.