Health leader Shauna rides off into the sunset

Shauna Dixon and her Harley Davidson

NHS Oldham’s chief executive who has an MBE and Lieutenant Colonel rank in the Territorial Army, is to retire after 46 years in the health service.

Shauna Dixon, who leaves at the end of the month, has dedicated her career to improving services and health throughout the borough since starting as a cadet nurse in Ashton-u-Lyne in 1966.

Since then she has been a midwife and health visitor. She moved into management with NHS Oldham in 2003 and has held several roles, including deputy chief executive, nurse adviser to the board, director for infection control, accountable officer for controlled drugs and protector of patient information.

Shauna was instrumental in many of the improvements to services and health in Oldham, including increasing the number of doctors and dentists; investing in the training and development of health workers; the successful creation of Oldham Community Health Services; the moving of services into the new purpose-built health centres which helped to increase access to health service for patients; and ensuring health services are safe and sound.

She became chief executive of NHS Oldham in December 2010, and has led it through a testing two years of change.

Shauna, a keen motorcyclist, is married with two children and lives in Heywood. “I have loved being part of the NHS. I have been very proud to be a nurse and to have provided clinical leadership in a number of organisations.

“I have seen so many staff develop their personal and professional abilities and I have met so many great and dedicated people. I will be very sad to say goodbye, I’m sure I will be trying to hold back the tears when I actually leave!”

Riaz Ahmad, chair of Oldham NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Shauna has given outstanding service to the NHS over many years. She has made a significant contribution to work which helped secure NHS Oldham many awards for its services and led to NHS Oldham receiving the Health Service Journal’s Organisation of the Year in 2006.