Staff from across the Trust gathered for her farewell gathering. They were joined by external guests who had all worked closely with Lorene, such as John Penrose, local MP and President of the Hospital League of Friends; Graham Turner, Chief Executive of North Somerset Council; Primary Care Trust Locality Director, Jeanette George, and Chief Executive-Designate of North Somerset Community Partnership, Penny Brown.
Trust Chairman Chris Creswick presented Lorene with her gift, flowers and a montage of photographs to remind her of her four years at the helm of the Trust.
He said: “Lorene came in April 2007 and the progress made since then has been quite remarkable. We have seen tangible results, such as the opening of the Urgent Care Centre and the Scanners Suite.
“We have benefitted from her unrelenting focus on patient safety and her outstanding performance in bringing down hospital-acquired infection, so that we are now ahead of the national curve.
“It is a track record to be proud of. Kettering Hospital is about to gain a very good Chief Executive and we wish her well.”
Lorene responded by saying how difficult it had been for her to decide to leave Weston.
She said: “I have loved every minute of it and the first day I didn’t want to come into work was today because I knew how hard it was going to be to leave everybody.
“I feel a deep and profound affection for this organisation and the people who work in it and sincere respect for the selfless care that you all give to our patients. I can’t imagine being more proud of any organisation than this one.”
Lorene’s successor Interim Chief Executive Peter Colclough joins the Trust next month.
For further information, please contact Caroline Welch on 01934 647091