Assistant Divisional Director for Community, Karen Barnett, joined CHFT on March 1st 2016 after a long career as an Occupational Therapist.

She specialised in hand therapy, before finding an interest in Service Improvement that led to her leaving her clinical role for service improvement roles across different Trusts.

Following this, Karen joined Harrogate NHS Foundation Trust as Operational Director for Medicine and community services.

Karen said: "During my career, I was privileged to undertake the Health Foundation funded Generation Q Leadership Development Programme and visited the Nuka System of Care in Alaska last year as part of the programme.

"This was a great opportunity to see a fully integrated primary care system in operation that focussed on wellbeing to support population health."

In her spare time, she likes to visit North Wales spends every other weekend there as her partner’s family live there.

When asked what people might be surpirsed to know about her, she said: "I’m a massive rugby union fan and enjoy watching rugby union.  My dream is to follow the British Lions tour to New Zealand."