Community healthcare provider Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCHC) has appointed a new non-executive director to its board.

Lorna Bailey joined as a non-executive director on April 1 and the trust said she had a 'unique combination of clinical and financial skills, with professional qualifications in both areas'.

Ms Bailey is a speech and language therapist, with more than 15 years NHS and private sector experience.

She co-owns and manages an independent speech and language therapy practice in Norwich.

She is also a qualified chartered accountant. She qualified with Coopers and Lybrand / PwC in London and then moved into the not-for-profit-sector, working for Cancer Research UK, Médecins sans Frontières and Amnesty International, before re-training as a speech and language therapist. She continues to work as finance manager for a number of small businesses.

Ms Bailey is also the honorary treasurer and a trustee of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and chairs their finance and resources committee.

She said: 'I'm delighted to join the board of NCHC. I will use my combination of financial and clinical experiences to develop NCHC's strategy to deliver high quality, efficient and effective patient care. I want to ensure that our hard-working staff are supported to deliver modern, fit-for-purpose healthcare services to the Norfolk community.'

NCHC chairwoman, Geraldine Broderick, said: 'I'm extremely pleased that we have another talented and experienced non-executive director joining our board and we look forward to working with Lorna as we move the trust forward in providing the high standards of care, treatment and recovery services that the public expects.'