Professor Meriel Jenney appointed to Medical Director

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has announced that Professor Meriel Jenney has been appointed to Medical Director.

Meriel has a long and distinguished career as a paediatric oncologist and is incredibly well respected in the medical world with both colleagues and patients. Meriel will take on the post as Medical Director until at least 2023, after being Interim Medical Director since September 2021.

Chief Executive Officer, Suzanne Rankin, said: “To confirm Meriel’s position as Medical Director is fantastic news and I am very much looking forward to working with her longer-term. Since I joined the organisation at the beginning of February, I have benefitted enormously from her long experience of the Health Board as well as the warmth of her welcome and support to me.

“Meriel will provide strong continuity at a time of change and challenge and I am confident that she will lead her colleagues effectively and compassionately to ensure the delivery of the highest quality, evidence-based treatment and care to the patients and citizens we serve. Meriel is a huge asset to our organisation and I am really looking forward to working with and learning from her. Congratulations Meriel.”

Meriel has been a Consultant in Paediatric Oncology at the Children’s Hospital for Wales since 1996. She was appointed to Deputy Medical Director in early 2021.

Professor Meriel Jenney said: “I am very much looking forward to working closely with Suzanne and my colleagues at Cardiff and Vale to help shape the future of healthcare in our community. I have been part of the medical workforce here for many years and understand the issues and challenges we face.

“Currently we are dealing with exceptional urgent pressures alongside significant waiting lists, whilst also embarking on a programme of innovation and transformation as we redesign our services. As Medical Director, I will be focused on ensuring we can meet our patients’ needs both now and in the future. I’m excited to have a central role in delivering the challenges ahead.”

Meriel’s undergraduate training was in Sheffield and postgraduate in Sheffield, Melbourne and Manchester. She was also awarded a Harkness Fellowship to study in the US based at the University of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Following her move to Cardiff in 1996, Meriel led the children’s cancer services in Wales for over two decades. She has worked in senior operational roles as Clinical Board Director for both the Children and Women’s and Clinical Diagnostics and Therapeutics clinical boards and in the more strategic role of Associate Medical

Director for Cancer Services. Meriel has a longstanding, ongoing research interest in the treatment of children’s cancers and was awarded an honorary Chair by Cardiff University in 2019.

Meriel also works with the Cardiff and Vale Health Charity in supporting the development of paediatric oncology services at The Children’s Cancer Centre in Sierra Leone.