Meet the board of directors

Peter was the chief executive of both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Peter joined one of our predecessor trusts, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust which ran Musgrove Park Hospital, in 2005 as director of finance and performance. He then became deputy chief executive in 2008 and took on the responsibility of chief operating officer in 2010. Before Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust merged in April 2020, Peter became chief executive of both organisations in November 2017. Prior to joining Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Peter was director of performance at Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority, and also worked in both commissioning and provider organisations in Somerset prior to that. Peter is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Andy was one of two chief operating officers for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023 and is now the single chief operating officer and deputy chief executive for our trust. Andy joined the NHS in Somerset in 2014 when he joined Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as chief operating officer. Having originally qualified as an occupational therapist, he worked in a number of clinical roles within mental health across the south west before moving into leadership roles during the 1990s. Andy played a role in the establishment of a new specialist NHS mental health trust serving the Avon and Wiltshire areas and became the general manager of mental health services for seven years up to 2006. Following this, Andy gained a broad range of experience in London and the south west in senior commissioning and provider roles in the NHS, and also in social care, with most of his work being focused on service modernisation. Andy maintains a strong interest in care pathway redesign and service transformation and in recent years has taken on a number of system leadership roles within Somerset, centred on improving patient flow and working with partners in the development of successful community alternatives to hospital admission. Andy was the joint senior responsible officer for the Somerset COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Dr Melanie Iles was previously national chief clinical information officer (CCIO) at NHS England on an interim basis, on secondment from her substantive role as NHS England’s medical director and CCIO for the East of England region. Dr Melanie joined Somerset NHS Foundation Trust on Monday 1 April 2024. Dr Melanie Iles is an experienced leader, having worked as a medical director in different settings for over 8 years, in an acute trust, for NHS Improvement and for NHS England at regional level. Prior to this, she held a variety of regional and national roles as a senior clinical leader focussed on children and young people. She is a paediatrician with over 31 years’ service in the NHS.

David was previously the director of strategy and digital development for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. David first joined Musgrove Park Hospital in 2016 as director of finance and went on to become the director of strategic development and improvement for both Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before the two trusts merged in 2020. David was previously director of operational finance at North Bristol NHS Trust from June 2014. Before that he spent six years at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, most of them as assistant director of finance. He originally joined the NHS in 1998 on its graduate financial management training scheme.

Hayley was previously the chief nurse for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Prior to becoming an executive director, Hayley worked in senior clinical leadership roles in the southwest, London and the southeast. Hayley’s early professional career centred in critical care, first as an intensive care nurse and later, following a period of training at Birmingham Medical School, as one of the very first physician’s assistants to practise in the UK. As part of Hayley’s role at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, she has executive responsibility for safeguarding, patient safety and quality (jointly with the chief medical officer). Hayley is Trust Board safety champion for our armed forces, children, maternity, and neonates.

Isobel was previously the chief of people and organisational development at both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Isobel started her career at Musgrove Park Hospital in 1988 and held several senior human resources and organisational development management roles, including at associate and deputy level, until she was appointed director of people and organisational development in 2018 for both Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before the two trusts merged. Isobel has played a key role in developing the trust’s system of distributed leadership, ensuring that the organisation’s values are brought to life in everyday behaviour. Isobel is a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Pippa was previously the chief finance officer for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Pippa has over 20 years of experience in NHS finance and over thirteen years at deputy and director level. She has worked across regulator, commissioning and provider sectors and has a broad perspective on NHS finances. Pippa joined Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in June 2013 as director of finance and business development. She was then appointed as director of finance for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in October 2017 before the two trusts merged in 2020. Pippa believes NHS resources must be used in the most efficient and effective way while ensuring patient safety is not compromised. Pippa is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Jade is our Director of Corporate Services, a role she does jointly with the Somerset Integrated Care Board with the aim of fostering collaborative working across the health system in Somerset. She has extensive experience within the NHS and the field of corporate governance, beginning her career in commissioning, then moving into senior company secretarial and governance roles within the NHS provider trust sector, working at both Yeovil District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital prior to merger of these organisations. For Somerset NHS Foundation Trust she has responsibility for corporate governance and the Board secretariat, legal services, emergency preparedness, resilience, and response (EPRR), business continuity, and security. She is also the Accountable Emergency Officer (AEO). In her free time, she is Chair of the Board of Trustees of a Multi-Academy Trust within the education sector.

Dr Rima Makarem joined the trust on January 1 2025 as our new Chair. Rima has extensive experience of working at Board level in the NHS and has worked at both regional and national level. She has been the chair of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board since 2020. She is also chair of the Sue Ryder charity, chair of Queen Square Enterprises Ltd (an independent healthcare provider based in London), a lay council member for the General Pharmaceutical Council, and a trustee of LifeArc. Rima trained as a scientist and has held senior roles within the global pharmaceutical industry. Other senior roles she has held include senior independent director and audit chair of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and audit chair and external commissioner at the House of Commons Commission, working closely with the Speaker and the Leader of the House.

Following a degree and PhD in chemistry at Oxford University (where he used A.I. to design anti-cancer drugs), Alex started his career promoting apprentice partnerships as chief executive of an educational charity in London. In January 2016, he jumped from a successful career in intellectual property law to become chief executive of Mind (the mental health charity) in his home county of Somerset, where he now farms with his young family. Alex also holds various trusteeships and directorships in the property, education and third sectors. Alex was previously also a non-executive director at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust prior to the merger of the trusts in April 2023.

Graham has over 40 years of experience in the financial and legal sectors and was previously an executive director of Bank and Clients PLC. Prior to this, in his capacity as managing partner and latterly chairman, he developed a legal practice to a multi office large employer. He has a deep understanding of commercial and risk management within the financial sector together with a thorough knowledge of the core strategic principles of heavily regulated and competitive sectors. He has also been involved in change management, developing policies for large and complex organisations including whistle blowing, IT security and data protection and people policies. Graham joined the Trust Board of Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April 2018 and subsequently joined the Trust Board of the merged trust in April 2023.

Jan spent the early part of her career with Unilever, in an international perfumery business covering sales, marketing and general management roles, including two years in the USA. She has over 20 years’ experience of the NHS in Somerset, initially in public health and later as deputy chief executive for NHS Somerset, until she became managing director of the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit. Jan retired from this post in 2016. Jan has worked at senior level with all of the major health and social organisations in the county, including primary care, local authorities and the voluntary sector. She also has significant experience of structural change, having led the merger of three commissioning support units in 2015. Jan was previously also a non-executive director at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust prior to the merger of the trusts in April 2023.

Martyn is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and chairs the Institute’s Internal Audit Advisory Panel. He has 40 years of experience in audit and risk management, operating at board level with both the public and private sector. Over the last 15 years he has led the internal audit functions first at a major UK bank and then at a global investment and wealth management bank. From 2010 to 2012, he was a board member of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. Martyn chairs the Trust’s Financial Resilience and Commercial Committee. Martyn was previously a non-executive director and chairman at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023.

After a career spanning 41 years in the NHS, including 17 years as Director of Finance and Information at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Paul retired in June 2019. He became a non-executive director of Yeovil Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in March 2020 and joined the Trust Board of the merged trust in April 2023.

Inga has spent a large part of her career working in the NHS in a range of nursing, midwifery and education roles, but also has extensive experience working in senior roles in the Royal Navy. Inga was appointed Inspector General of the Defence Medical Services where she designed and implemented a new healthcare governance framework. Subsequently she took on the role of Head of the Medical Service and Medical Director General for the Royal Navy. Inga is a trustee of the White Ensign Association, which provides independent advice to all serving and former members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and their families. Inga is currently a non-executive director for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and the Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust and is a director of a private healthcare consultancy providing healthcare advice and reasonable challenge to executive teams with the aim of delivering enhanced governance and assurance.