Chair re-appointed at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Martin Havenhand has been re-appointed as Chair of Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) for a further three years, until 31 March 2029. The re-appointment was made by NHS England and continues Martin’s tenure, which started on 1 April 2023.

Martin is a very experienced chair and non-executive director who has held a number of chief executive, chair and non-executive roles in both the public and private sectors. Prior to his role at YAS, he was Chair of The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, with previous experience as Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward the then Government’s Regional Development Agency, Chair of the National Metals Technology Centre and a Non-Executive Director of Yorkshire Water.

Peter Reading, Chief Executive, said: “Martin Havenhand’s re-appointment is excellent news for YAS and for the communities we serve. Martin’s commitment and leadership have been instrumental in helping to shape and drive our strategy and our commitment to serving patients across Yorkshire and the Humber. His continued leadership and extensive experience will be invaluable as we deliver on our priorities and navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead.”

Speaking of his appointment, Martin Havenhand said: “I am privileged to be asked to continue in my role as Chair of Yorkshire Ambulance Service. I am very proud to be part of an NHS Provider Trust that delivers compassionate care and treatment to patients every day, often at their most vulnerable. I look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy and our vision of delivering great care, being a great place to work and being a great partner to
work with.”

Martin leads the Board of the Trust, which has a budget of £450m, employing just over 7,000 staff, with support from nearly 1,000 volunteers, serving a population of more than five million people. The Trust has been ranked in ‘Segment 1’ of the new NHS Oversight Framework for the last two quarters, the highest ranked segment for NHS Trusts, and ranked third overall in the ‘ambulance league table’.

As leader of the Trust Board, the Chair’s role is to lead the Board, ensuring it has a clear strategy and good governance in place. Alongside other Board colleagues and partner organisations, they work to ensure that communities and patients receive high quality, safe care.

ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Non-executive appointments to NHS Trusts are made by NHS England and made in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. NHS England ensures that all appointments to NHS trust boards are made in a way that is open, transparent and fair to candidates. Martin Havenhand was originally appointed as Chair of YAS from 1 April 2023 and his re-appointment is from 1 April 2026 until 31 March 2029 and he has not declared any political activity in the last five years.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers almost 6,000 square miles of varied terrain from isolated moors and dales to urban areas, coastline and inner cities and provides 24-hour emergency and urgent healthcare services to a population of more than five million people. The Trust employs just over 7,000 staff and has support from nearly 1,000 volunteers.

In 2024-25, our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) staff received 1,233,697 emergency and routine calls, an average of 3,381 calls a day. We responded to a total of 908,378 emergency incidents through either a vehicle arriving on scene or by telephone advice.

Our Patient Transport Service made over 978,000 journeys transporting eligible patients to and from hospital and treatment centre appointments, and the Trust’s NHS 111 service helped around 1.69 million patients across Yorkshire and the Humber, Bassetlaw, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.