Board committees
Non-Executive Directors
The role of Non-Executive Directors is to provide leadership for the organisation and hold our Executive Directors to account.
David Clayton-Smith (Joint Chair)
David is the Joint-Chair of Dorset HealthCare and Dorset County Hospital.
He is a vastly experienced chair and non-executive director, working in a broad range of non-executive roles in both the public and private sectors, most recently focusing heavily on health.
David has held non-executive director roles at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and has been Chair at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as the NHS Sussex and NHS Surrey Primary Care Trusts.
From 2019-22, David was Independent Chair at the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care System. He was also an Independent Chair of the Programme Board for the new hospital development at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust. David’s executive career was spent in marketing roles across the retail and hospitality sector.
Suresh Ariaratnam
Suresh has worked in the book industry for more than 23 years, primarily as a literary agent, focussing on representing authors from Black and Asian communities. He remains involved in helping to ensure the equitable treatment of marginalised people in the creative economy and more generally, through advocacy and activism.
As a Non-Executive Director for Dorset HealthCare and NHS Somerset, he is especially interested in the broader socio-economic determinants of health and their relationship to inequalities, and in a holistic understanding of wellbeing which champions the interdependency between personal, societal, and planetary health.
Suresh also serves as co-chair of Literature Works, as a trustee of the Theatre Royal Bath and the Trussell Trust, and is a member of the British Library Advisory Council. In 2022, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset in 2024.
Image credit: Joe Short
Andreas Haimboeck-Tichy
Andreas has more than 25 years of experience in the IT/digital industry and is currently Managing Director at Healthcare at Accenture UK, with a mission to help the NHS transform through the use of data, AI and other digital technologies. Prior to that he was a Director at Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM UK.
He has worked to improve children’s experience of hospital stays and visits with Alder Hey Hospital, with Versus Arthritis UK to improve patient pain management and with Velindre NHS Trust to improve patient experience during cancer treatment using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Andreas previously worked with a charity for the disabled as a member of the Board of Trustees, overseeing the development of strategy and approving its strategic direction and policies.
He is currently Chair of the Health and Social Care (HSC) Council, techUK and leads regular Council meetings. This has included the co-ordination of techUK HSC industry responses to COVID-19, current work on frontline digitisation and initiatives focusing on diversity and inclusion and the development of skills and talent in the health tech sector.
Eiri Jones
Eiri joined our Trust in September 2024. She is a registered nurse, has an MA in Professional Development and is a quality, service improvement and redesign (QSIR) practitioner. She has clinical, managerial and executive leadership knowledge and skills gained during a career spanning more than 40 years.
Eiri has held senior and board positions in a range of trusts in England and Wales, most recently as the Director of Nursing for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. She has also held regional (Trust Development Authority), national (Welsh Government and State of Qatar) and regulatory (Nursing and Midwifery Council) roles.
Currently contracted to Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board as a part-time Programme Director, Eiri is also a Non-Executive Director with both Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and Dorset County Hospital.
Claire Lehman
As a GP and public health consultant, Claire brings a holistic perspective in understanding needs of the changing demographic of our local communities. She is a keen advocate of empowering individuals to direct their own health trajectories.
Her previous leadership experience includes roles as health protection lead consultant in a local authority during the COVID-19 pandemic , as a GP partner, as a GP clinical lead for quality and as an LMC Medical Director, as well as 18 months as Medical Officer for the British Antarctic Survey.
Claire is strongly motivated to positively influence the health and social care services of those served by the Trust.
Steven Peacock
Steven is Chief Finance Officer for RNLI based in Poole where his responsibilities beyond finance include Business Planning, Programme Management Office, Legal Affairs and LEAN Continuous Improvement.
Steven is a graduate in economics and a chartered accountant, with more than 30 years of experience working in both finance and commercial roles for many household brand names such as Fosters Brewing Group, United Biscuits, Superdrug, Homebase, WH Smith and Estée Lauder.
Steven also served for eight years as a Non-Executive Director of The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust, retiring as Vice Chair in September 2017.
David Underwood
Dave is an experienced senior leader, having worked at the Civil Aviation Authority as an air traffic control scientist and research manager before joining the Met Office, to lead its civil aviation business. Over 20 years with the Met Office he held a range of senior executive roles including Group Head of Public Sector Business, Deputy Director of Technology and Information Systems and Deputy Director of High Performance Computing.
In addition to his executive roles Dave has more than 10 years’ non-executive leadership experience in the fields of environmental business and further education (serving on the Board of Exeter College). Most recently, he was a Non-Executive Independent Advisor to the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust regarding its MyCare Technology-enabled Transformation Programme. He is also a Non-Executive Director with Dorset County Hospital.
Dave is passionate about delivering effective leadership of change and promoting the benefits of careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
Frances West
Frances brings a varied career experience to her non-executive role. She started her civilian working life in 2008 after more than 20 years in the army, where she was a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Military Police.
She moved into local government with Purbeck District Council initially, as the Head of Legal and Democratic services, and then went on to run its public health and housing services.
More recently, Frances has worked in the charity sector with senior roles with Help for Heroes, Age UK and EDP Drug and Alcohol Services. She is also the Senior Independent Director on the Board of Westward Housing Group and was a Non-Executive Director for Tricuro Ltd until May 2023.
Executive Directors
Executive Directors are employees of the Trust who lead on developing and implementing our strategic goals, and are responsible for the delivery and performance of our services.
*Joint post with Dorset County Hospital
Matthew Bryant (Joint Chief Executive Officer)* 
Matthew previously worked for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where he was Chief Operating Officer for hospital services.
He led the Somerset health and care system boards for planned and unplanned care, and previously led surgical and medical services at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS FT, as well as redesigning care for frail older people. Over a 25-year career in the NHS he has worked with hospital, community and mental health services, and helped to establish the Peninsula Medical School in the south west.
Matthew is passionate about empowering NHS staff and working in partnership across organisations to improve health outcomes for local people. He is also Senior Independent Trustee at Hospiscare, the palliative care provider based in Exeter.
Dawn Dawson (Joint Chief Nursing Officer)*
Dawn is a registered nurse with an extensive clinical background, having worked across acute, community and mental health sectors. She has a broad academic background, which includes psychology, law, legal practice, post-compulsory education, strategic system leadership and business administration.
She is a Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute and a qualified executive coach, and was awarded a visiting professorship from Bournemouth University in 2021. During her time in Dorset, Dawn's focus has been on empowering colleagues to deliver safe, high quality and compassionate care every day.
Dawn has held several senior positions in Dorset and is the Joint Chief Nursing Officer for Dorset County Hospital and Dorset HealthCare. She has also been the Interim Deputy Chief Executive of Dorset HealthCare since July 2024.
Chris Hearn (Joint Chief Financial Officer)*
Chris was appointed Joint Chief Financial Officer in February 2024. He had previously worked at Dorset HealthCare as Director of Operational Finance before moving to Dorset County Hospital in October 2022.
During his time in the NHS, Chris has worked in a number of senior finance roles within acute, mental health and community trusts, and previously held a variety of technical and commercial finance roles within a large fast-moving consumer goods organisation.
Chris is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), having qualified with PwC London where he was involved in the audit of several FTSE 100 companies.
Jenny Horrabin (Joint Executive Director of Corporate Affairs)*
Jenny is a qualified accountant and chartered company secretary, and was appointed Joint Executive Director of Corporate Affairs in March 2024.
She worked in audit and assurance for more than 20 years in the public and private sectors, before moving into a Company Secretary role in the NHS in 2012. She joined our trusts from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, having previously worked in senior governance and corporate affairs in two Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Jenny is an active member of the NHS Company Secretaries Network, as well as the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Audit and Governance Committee. She is also a trustee of a charity.
Nick Johnson (Joint Chief Strategy, Transformation and Partnerships Officer)*
Nick joined Dorset County Hospital (DCH) in 2016 from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust where he was responsible for strategy and commercial development projects, including establishing an innovative commercial development joint venture.
He became DCH’s Deputy Chief Executive in 2020, and was appointed Joint Chief Strategy, Transformation and Partnership Officer in February 2024. Nick is also the executive lead for health inequalities and one of the Dorset Integrated Care System board member representatives for the Wessex Academic Health Science Network, as well as exec lead for the Trust’s Subsidiary Company and Dorset Estates Partnership.
Nick has also worked in a number of local authorities delivering innovative strategic partnerships, contract management and service transformation.
Dr Lucy Knight (Chief Medical Officer)
Lucy is a consultant psychiatrist, with a background in old age psychiatry and liaison psychiatry in acute hospitals. She has extensive experience in senior medical leadership roles across mental health and community physical health services, as well as leading the development of integrated models of care.
Most recently Lucy was Medical Director for mental health, learning disability and community services at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
Nicola Plumb (Joint Chief People Officer)*
Nicola joined Dorset HealthCare’s Trust Board in 2014 and was appointed Joint Chief People Officer in February 2024.
She is passionate about the NHS and has spent her career in the public sector since graduating from Durham University with a Politics degree in 2000.
Nicola has held a variety of communications and development roles in the NHS and Department of Health, including working at NHS Bournemouth and Poole, serving as Communications Advisor to the NHS Chief Executive and working as Head of Brand for NHS England.
Rachel Small (Chief Operating Officer) 
Rachel was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in March 2025, and has more than 15 years of experience working in the health and social care system in Dorset.
She has led a wide range of mental health and community services, covering primary care, social care, community care, specialist and tertiary services, working alongside numerous commissioning bodies.
She is passionate about bringing lived experience into service delivery and enabling professionals and people using services to recognise the contribution that peer specialists can offer. Her other professional passion is in advocating for gender equality, and she was a founding member and co-chair of our staff Women’s Network. Rachel is a chartered manager with the Chartered Management Institute and active in local voluntary work.