The ambulance service serving Swindon and Wiltshire is set to have a new boss.

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has appointed Dr John Martin as its interim chief executive. 

It comes after it was announced in September that Will Warrender intends to resign as chief executive, after three years at the Trust. 

Dr Martin will join SWASFT from the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in December.

He is currently the chief paramedic officer at LAS and is an experienced executive board member with clinical and operational experience across ambulance, acute, community and mental health services.

Stephen Otter, chair of the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of the board I would like to welcome Dr John Martin to the Trust as our interim chief executive.

“John really impressed the interview panel with his operational and clinical leadership, and passion for people and patients which aligns with our values, behaviours, and Trust Strategy.

“The board and I look forward to working with him over the coming months to provide stability and a smooth transition of leadership.

“I would again also like to offer my sincere thanks and best wishes for the future to Will Warrender for his dedication and leadership of the Trust over the last three years.”

In the announcement of his intended retirement, Mr Warrender, said: “Having joined the NHS after 32 years in the Royal Navy, it has been an immense privilege to lead the organisation over the past three years.

"The journey we have been on in this time is extraordinary and I am proud of the way we have handled the impact and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with other pressures facing urgent and emergency care in the South West.

“We have a new, five-year strategy and a robust plan in place which is starting to deliver palpable improvements in the care we provide to patients across the region. On a personal level I feel it is now the right time for me to move on and hand over the reins to my successor to lead the organisation through the next chapter of its development."

The recruitment for a substantive chief executive will start before the end of this year, with an intended start date of August 2024.