Dame Alwen Williams was Chief Executive of the

Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...

in London, England.

Career

Alwen Williams has worked within the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in England since 1980 in managerial roles. Since 2004 she has been the Chief Executive of several NHS Trusts, starting with Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trusts, moving on to the East London and the City Alliance of Primary Care Trusts in 2009 then the NHS East London and the City in 2011. In 2013 she took a national role as director of delivery and development for the NHS Trust Development Authority. In October 2015 she became the chief executive of the

in London, which had been placed in 'special measures' because of deficiencies. By 2020 she had led it so that most services were rated 'good' or 'outstanding' and the financial situation had stabilised. In March 2020, in an early and rapid response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Williams led development of an additional 600 intensive care beds within four hospitals, changing to having out-patients seen remotely whenever possible and planning to use the '

Nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

' hospital in the ExCel Conference Centre, London if further beds were necessary. As well as installing new equipment and some building work, this required re-training of some hospital staff.

Honours

She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2009 and promoted to Dame Commander of the same Order (DBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to leadership in the NHS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alwen Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Administrators in the National Health Service