South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has announced the appointment of Peter Schild and Dr Karl Khan as new non-executive directors, further strengthening its Board leadership as it continues to deepen collaboration with South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.
Both appointments took effect on 1 August 2026 for an initial one-year term. The pair already serve as non-executive directors at SECAMB, reflecting the growing alignment between the two ambulance trusts as they work more closely to improve patient care, operational performance and organisational resilience.
Peter Schild joins SCAS bringing decades of financial leadership, governance and audit experience across both the public and private sectors.
His career began at J Sainsbury plc, where he qualified as a chartered management accountant, before moving to BT plc and holding a range of senior finance positions. He later joined the Department for Work and Pensions as deputy finance director with responsibility for finance, audit and security before progressing to HM Revenue & Customs, where he served in several financial directorship roles spanning audit, assurance and security.
Since October 2023, he has also served as a non-executive director and deputy chair of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body. At SECAMB, he currently chairs the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.
Peter will take on the role of Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee at SCAS. Peter said:
“I am delighted to be joining SCAS as a non-executive director and chair of the finance and performance committee. I am very much looking forward to working with the Board, colleagues and partners across the trust, and contributing to SCAS’ continued improvement, financial sustainability and delivery of high-quality patient care.
It is a privilege to be joining an organisation that plays such a vital role in its communities, and I look forward to supporting its people and ambitions.”
Dr Karl Khan brings more than 25 years of public service experience, including his most recent role as chief operating officer at the Financial Ombudsman Service.
His previous leadership positions include director of finance, planning and performance at HM Revenue & Customs, followed by interim director general of its customer services group, where he oversaw the strategy and delivery of large-scale customer-facing operations. He has also held senior posts within the Department for Work and Pensions and the UK Health Security Agency.
Dr Khan now provides independent advice to organisations across the public and private sectors, helping them improve transformation programmes, operational effectiveness and efficiency, while also exploring opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. Dr Khan said:
“I am excited to be joining SCAS as a non-executive director. As a senior civil servant, I have seen the impact that citizen-focussed services can have, and I am looking forward to working with colleagues to build on the great progress already achieved.
It’s highly motivating to have the opportunity to work across both SCAS and SECAMB and to help provide a service that delivers the right patient outcomes and experience, while building a culture where people feel engaged, valued and able to do their best work.”
Commenting on the two appointments, Colin Dennis, Group Chair of both SCAS and SECAMB, said the move reflects the trusts’ shared ambition to create greater consistency and improve care across the regions they serve. He said:
“This is an exciting time for both trusts as we continue to work more closely with our clear aim of improving the services we provide to patients and their families across our two communities. With appointments that are complementing and supporting each other across the two trust boards, we will be able to achieve consistency of approach, a common sense of purpose, clear and lived values and work in a way that allows us to share best practice, adopting innovative technologies to help us advance pre-hospital care over the coming months.”
The appointments underline the continued evolution of the SCAS and SECAMB partnership and signal a strong focus on financial sustainability, transformational leadership, governance excellence and innovation in pre-hospital healthcare. As both organisations navigate increasing service demand and ongoing healthcare reform, the additional expertise brought by Peter Schild and Dr Karl Khan is expected to support long-term improvement and better outcomes for patients and staff alike.
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