[T]wo new non-executive directors have been appointed to Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust’s Governor’s Council has approved the recommendation by its Nominations Committee to appoint George Liston and Malcolm Cook to the positions following a comprehensive recruitment and selection process.
Both Mr Liston and Mr Cook are also non-executive directors at North Cumbria University Hopsitals NHS Trust (NCUH) which means there are now three joint non-executive directors across both NHS Trusts. Mr Liston has been a non-executive director at NCUH since July 2015 and Mr Cook has been a non-executive director at NCUH since December 2013.
Mr Liston served in the Royal Air Force for over 30 years and travelled all over the world as an engineer officer. Upon retirement Mr Liston began looking for a new challenge and whilst attending a course at Manchester Business School, he was intrigued to listen to a talk from a non-executive director in the NHS describing her experiences in the role which led him to apply for his position with NCUH.
Mr Cook’s background is within British Telecoms where he was former senior manager. He helped redesign BT services and set up much of BT’s customer research with a focus on productivity through effective management and people development. Mr Cook also has previous experience within the NHS through his vice chair and non-executive director positions at NHS County Durham between 2007 to 2013.
Professor Robin Talbot, chair at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “I am delighted to welcome our two new non-executive directors to the Board; they both have much experience to offer and this a great step forward as we continue to work much more closely with North Cumbria University Hopsitals NHS Trust.”