Shauna McMahon appointed CIO at Newcastle Hospitals NHS FT

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Shauna McMahon as its new chief information officer to oversee digital technology and innovation across the trust.

McMahon  is currently group chief information officer and senior information risk owner (SIRO) at Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS FT and Hull University Teaching Hospitals. She will take over the CIO post in Newcastle on January 15.

As a member of the Executive Team and Trust Board, she will be responsible for developing and delivering Newcastle’s information and technology strategy, as well as leading digital innovation and service change throughout the organisation.

Welcoming Shauna to Newcastle Hospitals, chief executive Dame Jackie Daniel said: “Shauna had led significant and complex digital transformations during her career and so brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role of chief information officer.

“I know she will help us continue to deliver some exciting developments as we adopt the latest technology to transform our services for our patients and staff.”

Shauna has held a number of senior roles in healthcare for the last 20 years and spent the earlier part of her career in Canada, where she worked for an international consulting firm and served as chair of the board of directors at Credit Union Atlantic before joining Capital District Health Authority in Nova Scotia.

In 2015, she left Canada to become chief information officer at Frimley Health Foundation Trust, later moving to NHS South Central & West CSU to lead on complex digital transformational change programmes before joining North Lincolnshire and Goole in 2020 and her current role in 2022.

Speaking on her appointment, Shauna said: “Newcastle is recognised nationally as a digital mature organisation that delivers clinical solutions to support delivery of care to an excellent standard so I’m excited to be joining the team.

“I’m passionate about the positive impact effective digital transformation can have in the health and care system. People, data and technology are critical to the ongoing evolution of the NHS and will support local systems to work more efficiently, improve diagnosis and treatment and improve services.

“There will be some challenges ahead but I’m really looking forward to making an impact.”

Last year, Newcastle Hospitals was awarded ‘Stage 6’ by the international Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for how it has used its electronic patient record (EPR) technology to drive transformational change in all aspects of inpatient care – just one of eight NHS organisations to reach this level.

In addition, it was accredited as a Global Digital Exemplar. It is also the lead organisation for the Great North Care Record which is now successfully supporting 480,000 clinical encounters across the North East and North Cumbria, improving experience and outcomes for front-line staff and the patients we serve across the whole health and social care system.