BOLTON born Fiona Noden has landed a top job at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Her role as Chief Operating Officer is to lead the safe and effective delivery of patient services across the organisation playing a key part in realising The Christie’s ambition to be recognised as one of the top five comprehensive cancer centres in the world.

The former Smithills Grammar School pupil, whose mother and stepfather still live in Bolton, is an experienced Foundation Trust Executive Director and now lives in Eccles.

Mrs Noden has extensive general management experience as well as a clinical background in radiography, with a strong track record of achievements in change management, service improvement and innovation.

Since June 2012, Mrs Noden has been the Director of Operations and Performance at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust where she has led the operational services, including developing the collaborative services of The Christie at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh chemotherapy service, the pathology services hosted by Salford Royal for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh and the Sterile Services Decontamination Unit hosted by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh for Salford Royal. She was a key part of the executive team that resulted in Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh being named ‘Provider Trust of the Year’ by the Health Service Journal in 2014.

Roger Spencer, Chief Executive of The Christie, said: “I am delighted that Fiona Noden has moved to The Christie. She is a highly experienced director with a wealth of knowledge and skills who will play a vital role in helping us to achieve our ambition to be one of the top cancer centres in the world. Her strategic leadership will be invaluable to The Christie as we seek to deliver a world class patient experience.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Fiona on the incredibly successful Christie at Wigan chemotherapy partnership and know she has an exceptional track record in supporting and enabling the delivery of a safe, high quality patient care and in developing partnerships with a large number of organisations.”

Mrs Noden added: “I am very excited to have moved to The Christie at such an important time in its development as it aims to demonstrate that it is a world leading comprehensive cancer centre.

“I am looking forward to helping The Christie build on its internal and external relationships, by working across The Christie and Greater Manchester to provide the best services to cancer patients. I’m also keen to make sure we provide more care under The Christie banner closer to patients’ homes within Greater Manchester and beyond, helping us put the patient at the centre of everything we do here.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust and although I have been sad to leave the excellent colleagues and friends I have made there, the opportunity to work to improve cancer care in an organisation with an international reputation such as The Christie is one I cannot miss.”

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres and the largest single-site centre in Europe treating approximately 44,000 patients each year. It has the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK, as well as delivering chemotherapy at 10 other sites, in a mobile chemotherapy unit and in patients’ homes. The Christie also has one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world as well as centres in Oldham and Salford and houses the UK’s largest brachytherapy service.

Around 400 clinical trials may be taking place at any one time in The Christie’s NIHR Clinical Research Facility, a large, high quality, dedicated clinical research environment where patients can participate in complex and early phase clinical trials.

In partnership with The University of Manchester and five other healthcare providers, The Christie is one of only six academic health science centres in the country.