Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed the appointment of Dr Tonye Sikabofori as its new Chief Medical Officer, with plans for him to take up the role later this year.
Dr Sikabofori joins from Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where he currently serves as Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Consultant Psychiatrist. Widely recognised across the NHS for his clinical and system leadership, he brings extensive experience in driving clinical effectiveness, quality improvement, patient safety, workforce transformation, and innovation.
Throughout his career, Dr Sikabofori has led complex programmes of change across organisational and system boundaries. He is particularly known for his work tackling health inequalities and improving outcomes for underserved and marginalised communities – priorities that align closely with the Trust’s long-term ambitions.
Strategic leadership focus
In his new position, Dr Sikabofori will provide professional leadership for the Trust’s medical workforce and play a central role in delivering the organisation’s Clinical Strategy. His remit will include strengthening quality improvement initiatives, enhancing patient safety, and supporting the delivery of key strategic priorities across services.
His appointment follows a highly competitive recruitment process, with the Trust attracting a strong field of candidates for the senior leadership position.
Marsha Foster, Chief Executive, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust:
"We are delighted to appoint Tonye as our new Chief Medical Officer. He brings a wealth of experience, a strong commitment to quality and patient safety, and a genuine passion for improving outcomes for the people and communities we serve.
"Throughout the recruitment process, Tonye demonstrated the values, clinical leadership and strategic vision we were looking for in this important role. We look forward to welcoming him to Black Country Healthcare later this year and working with him as we continue our improvement journey."
Dr Sikabofori expressed enthusiasm for joining the organisation at a time of transformation and opportunity:
"I am excited to be joining Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and becoming part of an organisation that is ambitious for the future and committed to improving outcomes for local people.
"I look forward to supporting delivery of the Trust's clinical strategy, strengthening our culture of quality and safety, supporting our medical workforce and working closely with colleagues, partners, patients and communities to continue improving care across our services."
Sector significance
This appointment comes as NHS organisations continue to prioritise workforce leadership, integrated care, and tackling inequalities – areas where experienced clinical leadership is critical. Dr Sikabofori’s track record in system collaboration and service transformation positions him to support Black Country Healthcare NHS FT in advancing its improvement journey and delivering measurable impact for patients.
Image credit: Black Country Healthcare NHS FT
