On 1st October 2019 the Royal Liverpool, Broadgreen and Aintree hospitals, as well as Liverpool Dental Hospital, all merged into the new Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT), an organisation which controls just over a billion pounds and is the biggest employer in Merseyside and Cheshire with more than 12,000 staff.

James Sumner joined LUHFT as Chief Executive shortly thereafter in May 2022 and in October of the same year the Trust moved into the newly contructed Royal Liverpool University Hospital. More recently in August 2023 demolition began on the old premises and announced long terms plans for an Academic Health Sciences Campus on the old site. 

Come along to find out what it has really been like to take control of the helm in the turbulent times of an NHS merger, a global pandemic, the construction of a new hospital and the demolition of an old one. This is a rare opportunity to hear a first person account from the eye of the storm!

James has worked in the NHS for over 20 years in Primary and Secondary Care, System Improvement and Integrated Care roles across the North West. He has held a number of operational and strategic roles since, including Deputy Chief Executive at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Officer of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and latterly Chief Executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The lecture will commence at 8.00 p.m. and will be preceded by a welcome drink (6.15 p.m.) and a two course dinner at (6.45pm) for members and their guests. Dinner reservations will close on midday on Friday 6th September. Please book early to avoid disappointment.