Phil Berrington Appointed Welsh Ambulance Chair: His Background and Priorities

Phil Berrington took up the role of Chair of Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust on 1 October 2026, succeeding Colin Dennis.

The Welsh Government confirmed the appointment following a Senedd Health and Social Care Committee pre-appointment hearing on 24 September. His four-year term runs until 30 September 2030 (Welsh Government, 2026a; 2026b).

Professional background

Welsh Ambulance’s appointment announcement describes Berrington’s career in financial management and consulting with organisations including Hewlett Packard, PwC and IBM.

His published Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust biography identifies him as a former Executive Partner at IBM Consulting, working with clients undertaking large organisational transformation programmes involving technological change.

The biography also lists his qualifications as:

* Chartered Management Accountant, FCMA.
* Chartered Management Consultant.
* Postgraduate diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Saïd Business School.

These details are reported in the organisations’ published biographies (Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, 2026; Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, n.d.).

NHS board experience

According to his Portsmouth NHS biography, Berrington became a Non-Executive Director at Isle of Wight NHS Trust in January 2019 and at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in January 2023.

It records that he became Deputy Chair in November 2023 and chaired the Finance and Infrastructure Committee (Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, n.d.).

At his Senedd hearing, Berrington said he had also served as acting chair of the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight hospital group.

He described his experience of Isle of Wight NHS Trust when it provided acute, ambulance, community and mental health services. He also discussed his involvement in governance changes and collaboration between NHS organisations (Senedd Cymru, 2026).

What he told the Senedd

During the pre-appointment hearing, Berrington identified three areas underpinning his suitability for the role: leading complex organisations, governance and accountability, and system performance.

He said his ambitions included improved outcomes for patients and communities, collaboration across the healthcare system, and board development.

He acknowledged that he had not previously had practical involvement in the Welsh healthcare system, while describing preparation undertaken for Welsh public appointment processes (Senedd Cymru, 2026).

Ambulance handovers and wider system working

Berrington discussed Portsmouth’s experience of ambulance handovers during the hearing.

He said its board adopted “release to respond”, or handover at 45 minutes, in 2024. He acknowledged that the approach transferred risk into the hospital and said corridor care had increased.

These statements are his account to the committee, rather than an independent evaluation of the policy.

He also expressed a preference for improving the wider urgent and emergency care pathway across NHS Wales, rather than considering Welsh Ambulance performance in isolation (Senedd Cymru, 2026).

Staff and patient engagement

In the official appointment announcement, Berrington said he intended to meet staff and partners and place patients, the public and the workforce at the centre of decisions.

At the Senedd hearing, he also described the importance of visible leadership, conversations with staff and patients, and patient involvement in developing strategy.

These are stated intentions. Their delivery and impact cannot yet be assessed from the appointment announcements (Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, 2026; Senedd Cymru, 2026).

The service he joins

On 7 October 2026, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales published an assessment of progress following its 2020 and 2021 Welsh Ambulance reviews.

HIW reported significant improvements in areas including leadership, workforce support, clinical decision-making and digital governance.

It also identified delayed ambulance handovers as the most significant continuing challenge and said further evidence was needed to demonstrate lasting benefits for patients, staff and services.

The findings concern progress since the earlier reviews. They should not be attributed to Berrington’s appointment on 1 October (Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, 2026).

Summary

The published record confirms that Phil Berrington brings experience in financial management, consulting, organisational transformation and NHS board governance.

His statements identify patient outcomes, collaboration, board development and engagement as priorities. They do not establish that particular improvements have already resulted from his appointment.

 

References

• Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (2026) ‘HIW finds improvements in Welsh Ambulance Services, but delayed patient handovers remain a challenge’, 7 October. Available at: HIW announcement⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
• Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (n.d.) ‘Our Trust Board: Phil Berrington’. Available at: Trust board biography⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
• Senedd Cymru (2026) ‘Health and Social Care Committee: pre-appointment hearing for the Chair of Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust’, 24 September. Available at: Committee transcript⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
• Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust (2026) ‘Welsh Ambulance Service appoints Phil Berrington as new Chair’, 1 October. Available at: Official appointment announcement⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
• Welsh Government (2026a) ‘Written statement: New Chair of Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust’, 1 October. Available at: Ministerial statement⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
• Welsh Government (2026b) ‘Decision reports: appointment of a Chair, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust’, 7 October. Available at: Ministerial decision report⁠ (Accessed: 14 October 2026)