David Chandler

Chief Officer and Chief Finance Officer

David Chandler is the Chief Officer and Chief Finance Officer for Sunderland CCG.  He has worked in the NHS at a senior level for over 20 years and has experience in most sectors including acute care, community, mental health and commissioning within the areas of Gateshead, County Durham, Darlington and Sunderland.

He is also the chair of the Northern Branch of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), a trustee of the National and a non-executive director for Northern Saints in the education sector.

Ann Fox

Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety

Ann is a registered nurse with a long career working in a number of areas in the NHS since 1984. Ann trained in and has lived in Sunderland all her life. Ann has always been an advocate for improving the quality of patient care, safety and the overall patient experience.

She has been instrumental in developing new services and clinical pathways in many areas including haematology/oncology and palliative care throughout her career and in her role as Nurse Director for the North of England Cancer Network. During this time Ann was a founder board member of the United Kingdom Oncology Nursing Society, (UKONS).

From 2009, Ann was Director of Clinical Care and Patient Safety (Executive Nurse) at the North East Ambulance Service NHS FT. Ann has been the Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety for the CCG since 2013 and is a visiting professor at the University of Sunderland in the department of nursing and health sciences.

Scott Watson

Director of Contracting, Planning and Informatics

Scott was born and raised in Sunderland and has spent over twenty-five years working for local health and care services across the North East of England.  Having joined the CCG’s director team six years ago, he is currently the CCG’s lead director on the transformation of local hospital services via the Path to Excellence programme and provides leadership for strategic planning across County Durham, Sunderland, and South Tyneside CCGs. Recently, Scott has also taken on a wider role leading on the recovery of elective services alongside key system partners across the North East and North Cumbria ICS.

Scott is a qualified health informatician, with postgraduate and masters’ qualifications in information management. He is also a graduate of the NHS Leadership Academy where he gained an award in Executive Healthcare Leadership. Scott is married and has three young children.  When not working, he likes to spend time with his family and is heavily involved in local grassroots sports within County Durham.

Dr Claire Bradford

Medical Director

Originally from North London, Dr Bradford trained at Nottingham University and worked in Nottingham and Plymouth prior to moving (and staying) in the North East in 1989. She has worked in the NHS since 1984 as a haematologist after junior doctor posts.

Since 1994 Claire has been a public health physician as DPH in Newcastle Primary Care Trust, Health Protection Agency, North East Public Health Observatory and NHS England.

During her public health career, her achievements have included leading teams to develop the English health profiles, European health profiles and the National Library for Public Health.

Clare Nesbit

Director of People and Primary Care

Clare has lived and worked across the North East all her life, and worked in the NHS for over 20 years. Clare is an experienced Director of Organisational Development and Primary Care with a history of working in both commissioner and provider organisations.

Clare has a background in strategic partnership working, HR, training and development, Primary Care, reform and transformation and culture change. Clare has also worked for the private sector as a qualified engineer in production management and lean working.

As a senior OD leader Clare recognises that its people are the most valuable asset an organisation can have.

When not travelling, Clare enjoys cooking and planning the next family adventure.