The Montefiore Hospital in Hove has a new Managing Director - Rachel Dixon.

She has 30-plus years’ experience in the healthcare industry and says her first priorities in her new role will be to ensure the patient journey is as safe as possible while readjusting The Montefiore back to its normal workload post-COVID.

“The Montefiore Hospital holds a CQC Outstanding accreditation, but we should not rest on our laurels. We should always be looking for ways to further enhance the services and patient care we give, especially as we come out of COVID. To do this, we must make sure we have the best trained workforce to deliver patient care safely and to the highest standard,” she says.

Rachel began her career in 1988 as an NHS nurse after training at St Thomas’ Hospital, London and says her aspiration at the time was to be a ward sister as that felt like such a huge step for a newly qualified nurse.

But, when she was just 25 years old, she became one of the youngest people to reach the level of matron, by then working at the Spire Alexandra Hospital in Chatham, Kent.

Rachel has maintained her clinical accreditation whilst advancing her career. Before joining The Montefiore Hospital, she was the Operations and Clinical Director for Horder Healthcare whilst also being a Director for the Sussex MSK Partnership which brings together primary care, specialist musculoskeletal care, community and mental health and well-being experts to deliver the musculoskeletal service across East and Central Sussex.

Outside of work, Rachel spends much of her spare time cheering on her son at football matches. She is also PADI trained and has scuba-dived with sharks, sealions and penguins and says she is looking forward to travelling abroad again once restrictions allow.