Centre for Mental Health is delighted to announce that Sarah Hughes will be its new chief executive to succeed Sean Duggan.
Sarah is currently chief executive of Cambridgeshire Mind. Sarah has worked in mental health and criminal justice for 25 years, having initially trained as a social worker. Sarah has managed a range of community and secure services; led the research and evaluation of the pioneering First Night in Custody project in Holloway Prison; and in recent years has led high impact campaigns at Mind in Cambridgeshire including Stop Suicide and StressLess.
Sean Duggan will be leaving the Centre at the end of November to become chief executive of the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network. Sarah Hughes will begin work at the Centre in January 2017.
Centre for Mental Health chairman Dr Elizabeth Vallance said: “I am delighted to welcome Sarah to lead the staff team at the Centre. She has demonstrated great skill and commitment to better mental health in her leadership of Cambridgeshire Mind. We are thrilled that she will bring that to the Centre at this crucial time both for mental health policy and for the Centre itself.”
Sarah Hughes said: “I am delighted to be joining the Centre and its dedicated staff team. The Centre’s work has never been more important. While there is growing awareness and understanding about mental health, there is so much to be done to put effective solutions in place and bridge the gap between what we know should be done and what is currently available. There are yawning inequalities that need to be closed and gaps in provision that must be filled.
“I am looking forward to starting work with the Centre and being part of an organisation that changes society nationwide by bringing about fairer policies and better services”
“I am looking forward to starting work with the Centre and being part of an organisation that changes society nationwide by bringing about fairer policies and better services.”
