Chief Executive Announcement
Neil Macdonald has been appointed as the new Chief Executive for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust following an open and competitive recruitment process. He will join us on Monday 6 October 2025.
Neil has been Chief Executive with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust since March 2018. Prior to this he was part of the Trust Board for 3 years as Chief Operating Officer.
Neil started his NHS career in Yorkshire as a National General Management Trainee in 2003, before joining Buckinghamshire in 2005. After leaving for a role at the Healthcare Commission and general management positions at Imperial and Guys and St. Thomas’ Trusts, he returned to Buckinghamshire in July 2013 as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Surgery and Critical Care Division. Graduating from St. Anne’s College, Oxford with a modern history degree in 2000, Neil subsequently completed an MSc in Healthcare Management from the University of Birmingham.
Neil said: “It’s a privilege to have been appointed to lead University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust at an important and exciting time; not only for the organisation but the whole NHS. I have been struck by the warmth shown by everyone whom I’ve met in the Trust so far, and I look forward to serving both the people who work here and our communities, as well as making Devon my home.”
Chairman James Brent said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Neil as our new Chief Executive. He has a proven track record of delivery within the NHS, including as a Chief Executive and we are particularly excited about the knowledge and experience he brings of engaging with staff around change and cultural improvement. We know this will be immensely valuable to us at UHP, as we continue on our improvement journey, both in terms of performance and culture.
“We started our improvement journey some years ago and it is really bearing fruit now. We are the most improved hospital trust in the country against the 4 hour emergency care standard, we are in the best 25% of the country for planned patient care, including outpatients and we are the 9th best hospital Trust in the country for theatre utilisation. We lead research in the south west with overall recruitment to NIHR clinical trials totalling 33,374 patients. This currently ranks UHP in 1st place regionally and 2nd place nationally, with only Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ahead of us in research recruitment.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Hackett, our Interim Chief Executive for leading colleagues to deliver the great improvements they have made in the last year. Mark’s commitment, energy and drive have been tremendous and Neil will now take over the baton for the next leg of our improvement journey. We are excited to welcome him.”
