National NHS organisation appoints Warwickshire CEO to board of mental health network
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust is delighted to announce that its 
CEO, Mel Coombes, has been appointed to the board of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network.
Mel joins the board to support the work of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, bringing a wealth of experience to the role. She has been working in the NHS for over 36 years and has held a number of national positions, including Chair of the National Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Nurse Directors Forum.
The NHS Confederation is a membership body that brings together and speaks on behalf of all organisations that plan, commission and provide NHS services. Confederation members are drawn from all areas of the health and care system and include over 560 organisations.
Its Mental Health Network represents providers from across the statutory, independent and third sectors. They work with government, regulators, opinion formers, media and the wider NHS to “promote excellence in mental health services and the importance of good mental health.” This helps shape national policy and national legislation, while also challenging decisions made in relation to mental health services in the UK. The Mental Health Network also works to identify and spread good practice and innovation in the mental health sector.
As a Trust, we are very proud that our pioneering and innovative work in mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire has been reflected with one of our leaders being elected to such a prestigious board. Mel Coombes is looking forward to her new role and says:
“To be a part of such an important organisation as the NHS Confederation is incredibly humbling for me. Improving mental health services has long been a motivating factor in my career to date, so being involved with an organisation that allows me to promote positive change and improve patient services on a wider scale is very exciting. I’m looking forward to making a difference alongside the NHS Confederation.”
Ifti Majid, chair of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network and chief executive of Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Mel’s experience not just as a mental health chief executive but throughout her career from a nurse to the board room, as well as in a number of national roles, will add a huge amount of value to the NHS Confederation’s mission to speak with and represent members from across the mental health sector, and to ensure they can effectively play their vital role in the wider health and care system. I really look forward to working with her.”