He takes over the role from Teresa Griffiths who has been interim chair since the retirement of previous chair Steven Morgan in October 2025.

Dr Singleton said: ‘I am delighted to be appointed chair of North Cumbria Integrated Care and look forward to working with the board to support all staff to better serve our patients and the whole population of north Cumbria.

‘I am very grateful to Teresa for acting as interim chair and look forward to working very closely with her. The trust faces many and varied challenges - as well as many great opportunities - and I look forward to learning more from all the staff - and our patients - as I start in this exciting new role.'

Dr Singleton is a former GP in North Cumbria, a public health physician and NHS executive who has worked as an executive coach and quality improvement mentor for the last 12 years.

His career included a seven-years as medical director and interim chief executive of the North East Strategic Health Authority from 2006-2013 and clinical lead for the Covid Coordination and Response Centre at the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust from 2020 to 2023.