We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Vanessa Purday as Chief Medical Officer for Service Strategy and Operations, joining the Trust on 1 September 2025.

Dr Purday is a practising Consultant Anaesthetist with a special interest in intensive care medicine and joins the Royal Devon, with over 30 years’ experience working in the NHS, from Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. She trained in the South West and spent seven years as a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital before living and working in Australia. She is a graduate of the NHS Leadership Academy Nye Bevan programme, and has been awarded the NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership.

Commenting on her appointment, Sam Higginson, CEO at the Royal Devon said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Dr Purday to the Royal Devon. Her professional excellence, values-based leadership experience and passion for a patient-first culture were clear and match the ambitions of the Trust.”

As Chief Medical Officer for Service Strategy and Operations, Dr Purday will be responsible for delivering professional leadership across our medical and clinical staff, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, and sustainable services for the population of north and east Devon.

Dr Purday also commented: “I’ve been the CMO at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust for almost 2 years, and it was not an easy decision to leave my colleagues and the work we are doing together. However, returning to work and live in the South West with my family has been a long-term aspiration for me and I am thrilled to achieve this by joining Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust as Chief Medical Officer. I am really looking forward to starting my new post, and working in partnership with colleagues across Devon to achieve our ‘One Devon’ vision, delivering equal chances for everyone in Devon to lead long, happy and healthy lives.”

Professor Adrian Harris will continue as Chief Medical Officer before moving to his role as Chief Medical Officer for Digital and Research when Vanessa arrives.

Sam Higginson added: “On behalf of the Trust, I would like to thank Adrian for the huge contribution he has made to the Trust in his role as Chief Medical Officer. The change of his portfolio to focus on research and innovation is an exciting change to our executive leadership team which will help us deliver excellent care to our patients now and in the future.”