South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has announced the appointment of a new Executive Director of Operations.

Jennifer Allan will replace Emma Williams in the role following Emma’s decision to relocate to the North West where she will join Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as a Divisional Director of Operations.

Emma has served as Director of Operations since September 2019 and has enjoyed an ambulance service career since joining London Ambulance Service as a trainee qualified ambulance technician in 1996.

Jennifer will join SECAmb in the autumn as the Trust develops its executive team to reflect its move towards a regional integrated delivery leadership model across its Kent, Surrey and Sussex footprint.

She joins from South West London and St George’s (SWLSG) Mental Health NHS Trust where she has served as Chief Operating Officer since joining in March 2020.

At SWLSG, she has led on the operational delivery and improvement of the Trust’s clinical services having previously worked at a senior level in a number of hospital and community trusts across the capital.

Prior to working at SWLSG, Jennifer was Director of Operations at Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust where she led operationally on the Trust’s adult surgical services. At Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust she led the delivery of district nursing, rapid response and rehabilitation services.

SECAmb Chief Executive, Simon Weldon said: “I welcome Jennifer’s appointment and look forward to working closely with her. She brings with her a great deal of experience at a senior leadership level and she will be a real asset to SECAmb.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Emma Williams for her dedication and hard work with SECAmb since joining us in 2019. This, of course, included leading Trust operations during the pandemic – an extremely significant and challenging task. I wish her all the very best for the next stage of her career.”

Jennifer said: “It’s a huge privilege to be joining SECAmb at this exciting time and to have the opportunity to influence the Trust’s strategic development. I am delighted to be able to build on the successes delivered over the last few years as part of a team dedicated to improving patient care.

“I look forward to drawing on the skills and experience I have gained at SWLSTG, which is strongly values-led, with a focus on health inequalities and creating a compassionate culture of care.”