THE woman in charge of the trust which runs the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals in Oxford will step down tomorrow.

Dame Fiona Caldicott, chairman of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, leaves after a decade in the role.

Dame Fiona was appointed chair in 2009 when the trust was known as the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust and has seen it through to becoming Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust when the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals joined forces in 2011 and then to its current status as Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2015.

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Announcing her retirement in June last year, Dame Fiona said: "I have worked in the NHS for more than half its existence, and from my time as a medical student in Oxford - one of only 10 women in an intake of 100 students - much of my career has been spent in this inspirational city.

"It has been both a privilege and an honour to serve as a member of the Trust Board, and I want to take this opportunity to thank every member of staff for striving to achieve compassionate excellence in the care which patients receive. I will miss being part of the Trust hugely."

She was made DBE in 1996 for services to medicine and psychiatry, and was the first ever female president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the College in November.

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Speaking in June, trust chief executive, Dr Bruno Holthof said: "I would like to thank Dame Fiona for her service to the NHS in Oxford over many years - for the last 10 years as our chairman.

"We are very fortunate to have benefited from her knowledge, wisdom and sound judgement. She has brought a wealth of experience and expertise to her role as trust chairman.

"We wish Dame Fiona all the very best for the future."

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery will take on the role as new trust chair on Monday.