Dr Andy Heeps Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer

About me

Andy is a GenerationQ Fellow, consultant obstetrician and Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

During his fellowship he was responsible for building and developing quality improvement capabilities, strategies and methodologies Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Andy developed a passion for leading improvement when he was responsible for quality and safety in one of the UK’s largest single-site maternity units, while working as a Consultant Obstetrician and Clinical Lead for Intrapartum Care at BHRUT.

As Associate Medical Director for Quality Improvement, his areas of responsibility included building and developing quality improvement capabilities, strategies and methodologies. He also chaired the trust’s patient safety group and lead the quality strategy group: ‘My aim was to instil a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation so that each part, clinical and non-clinical, could continuously improve the quality of the services we provide throughout the organisation.’

Through GenerationQ Andy improved his understanding of the change process and how it is managed in a large acute trust: ‘The programme interested me because it equips its fellows with the latest thinking and research in improvement methodologies, and the leadership qualities needed to drive change.’

Since starting the fellowship he was appointed Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Chief Executive and interim Chief Executive at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust before joining University Hospitals Sussex as Managing Director (West Sussex), which was created by a merger of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, running hospitals in Brighton and Haywards Heath, and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, running hospitals in Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing and Chichester. From 1 April 2022 he was also interim Chief Executive for three months, and is currently Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer in which role he leads two managing directors and four hospital directors across the trust.

UHSussex now runs seven hospitals across Brighton & Hove and West Sussex. The mission of University Hospitals Sussex – what we are striving to achieve – is to provide 'excellent care every time’.

In these roles he sought to use those skills in empowering clinical teams to drive their own improvements for patient care, as well as bringing teams together from across different systems to resolve complex change management challenges.