Chairman

Sir Duncan Nichol CBE

Appointed in November 2012 as Chairman, Sir Duncan leads the Trust Board of Directors and Council of Governors in setting the strategic direction of the Trust, and ensuring  the Trust provides the best possible care to the communities it serves. 

Sir Duncan's links to the Countess are long-standing. He was involved in the Trust's development in the early 80's when he was the responsible Regional Administrator, through to the present day as a 30 year resident of Heswall.

Sir Duncan joined the NHS in 1963 as a Graduate Trainee and worked his way up from Senior Administrative Assistant to Regional General Manager of the Mersey Regional Health Authority and ultimately to Chief Executive of the NHS from 1989-1994. Since retiring from that role, he has served on a variety of public and private sector boards and also has a wealth of international health consultancy experience from assignments in Europe, South America and the Middle East.

Sir Duncan has taken over the role of Chairman from Sir Jim Sharples who recently retired after fulfilling the role since the Countess achieved Foundation Trust status in 2005.