THE chief executive of the NHS trust in charge of the Great Western Hospital has left after almost eight years in the role because of ill health.

Nerissa Vaughan has decided to quit in order to continue her recovery and then pursue other job opportunities.

In a tribute to her, chairman of the trust Liam Coleman said: “She successfully integrated Wiltshire community services and then Swindon community services into the trust.

“Subsequently, she set up Wiltshire Health and Care as a limited liability partnership to deliver Wiltshire’s community services.

“More recently, she has secured significant inward capital investment into the trust to expand accident and emergency services, as well as gaining final approval for radiotherapy services to be developed in Swindon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nerissa for all that she has done to contribute to the trust’s success and wish her all the best in the future.”

She joined the organisation in October 2011. Before that she was chief executive of Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn foundation trust

The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’ s council of governors will appoint a new chief executive in the near future.

In the interim, Kevin McNamara will continue to lead the executive team, working with Mr Coleman and the non-executive directors to drive what they described as an “ambitious agenda to deliver outstanding care to the people of Swindon, Wiltshire and surrounding areas."