A NEW chief executive has been appointed to Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (TENYAS).

Jayne Barnes CBE, 43, who lives in Wetherby, will begin her new role on June 1, taking over from caretaker chief executive Trevor Molton, who remains chief executive of West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (WYMAS).

Jayne, who has a strong clinical background, is currently Director of Nursing at WYMAS.

She said: "Over the past two years I have really enjoyed the work I have already carried out with colleagues at TENYAS, and I am absolutely delighted at this opportunity to lead the organisation forward.

"The challenges facing ambulance services nationally are well-known and I know that as we work together with our partners in the health community, TENYAS will continue to demonstrate its ability to deliver the very best patient care to the people we serve."

Jayne joined the NHS 25 years ago, qualifying as a nurse at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).

She joined WYMAS in 1998 to develop NHS Direct in West Yorkshire. She was also the driving force behind the establishment of NHS Professionals, the NHS flexible staffing service.

For the past two years Jayne has also come to know TENYAS well through her advisory role on the TENYAS Trust Board.

Jayne and her husband, Chris, a West Yorkshire Police superintendent, live at Wetherby. They have a daughter, Francesca, ten.

Updated: 10:50 Tuesday, May 20, 2003