Flavell will be joining the Florence Nightingale Foundation – a charity supporting nurses and midwives - bringing her passion for education and people development and supporting the future of nursing and midwifery leadership.

Her departure comes after making successful progress in navigating the trust through its past four years, including during its response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Independent Review of Maternity Services.

Jo Williams, chief executive for SaTH, said: ‘Spending time with Hayley, it has been so evident how proud she is of her teams. Her contributions have been invaluable in advancing our improvement journey and her positive impact will resonate for years to come.

'On behalf of the board, I would like to express our gratitude for her kindness and commitment. We wish her all the very best in her new role.'

Hayley added: 'I feel very privileged to have worked with so many inspirational colleagues, volunteers and patients across the Trust, as together we have worked to improve the care and the experience for our communities. I know there is more to do, but I am leaving the Trust in a stronger place.

'We have made fantastic progress in our recruitment, building a compassionate, skilled and multi-disciplinary workforce. I am especially proud of the work we have done with local colleges and universities to help grow and develop our people now and for the future.

'The trust is going through an exciting programme of transformation, and now feels the right time to hand over to a new director of nursing to lead the trust through the next phase of its improvement.'