First day for Horton hospital trust's new medical director

Meghana Pandit joins Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust following her appointment in September as a replacement for the retiring Tony Berendt.

Clare Dollery, who has been acting medical director since Dr Berendt’s departure in September, resumes her substantive role as the trust’s deputy medical director.

Professor Pandit was chief medical officer and deputy chief executive at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, and trained at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals in Oxford.

“I am delighted to be joining the team at OUH. I have very happy memories of my time in Oxford and I am really looking forward to using the skills and experience which I have gained during my career to date in my new role as medical director.

“The trust has huge strengths as a centre for research and specialist treatment, as well as providing local hospital services for the people of Oxfordshire, and I am looking forward to working with you all to help meet the needs of the communities which we serve.”

Professor Pandit is also Professor of Practice in the Institute of Digital Health at Warwick University since 2015.

She also has a prize MBA from Oxford Brookes University and is a senior founding fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.

Her clinical background is in obstetrics and gynaecology, having risen through the ranks at Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust.

Speaking at the time of Professor Pandit’s appointment in September, OUH chief executive Bruno Holthof said: “Meghana is an outstanding medical leader who will strengthen and enrich the trust board.

“She has a wealth of experience in medical leadership and management which I have no doubt will strengthen our senior management team.”