Karen Breen, the Chief Operating Officer at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH), has today announced her long planned retirement next Spring after more than four decades in healthcare.
Karen started her career as a health care assistant in Ireland before moving to the NHS in 1985 to train as a registered nurse and midwife. Since moving into managerial and executive roles at national, regional and local level, her posts have included NHS England, where she worked on New Models of Care and integrated care system (ICS) development programmes, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and Croydon Health NHS Trust, where she was appointed Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, and Barts Health where she was Executive Director for Delivery and Improvement. She also became Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer across Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS Sussex before ultimately taking up the role of Chief Operating Officer at SASH in November 2022.
During her time at SASH, Karen also took on the Executive sponsor role for the Women's Network, a direct nod to her passion for supporting the careers of her fellow female colleagues.
Karen Breen, Chief Operating Officer, said:
"I have been planning my retirement for a number of years and after 42 years in healthcare, I’ve decided it’s time to turn the page to a new chapter.
"As I reflect on over four decades, I feel privileged to have served with so many amazing NHS health and care colleagues around me, from doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, to secretaries, porters and support staff, as well as our partners. Without whom, I would never have achieved all I have for patients and the populations we serve.
"I am particularly proud to have been part of the team here at SASH, and all we have achieved together in the last three years - from introducing our new Frailty Same Day Emergency Care and Let's Get You Home, to improving our elective work and significantly increasing patient access to cancer services.
"I began my career with a desire to help others, and this desire has been everlasting and is something I will take with me as I lead the Trust through one last winter before I retire next spring."
Andrew Hines, Chief Executive, said:
“While I have only worked with Karen for a short time so far, she has been a great support to me and her passion for the job at hand and for always doing the very best we can for our patients no matter what the challenge, is truly inspiring.
"On behalf of myself and the entire Executive team and our Trust Board, I want to thank her for hard work and dedication over the last three years at SASH, and her many decades of service to the entire NHS throughout her career. Her work behind the scenes has ensured that our clinical teams can focus on providing the best possible care for our patients and the population we serve. We wish her all the best for the future.”
The Trust will begin the process of agreeing Karen's successor over the coming months.