A professor from the University of Essex has been appointed as a non-executive director of the Trust that runs Colchester General Hospital and Essex County Hospital.

Professor Christine Temple will join the Board of Directors of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust on 1 August and will replace Sally Irvine, who becomes the Trust’s Chair on the same day.

Professor Temple has worked at the University since 1991 when she was appointed as its first Professor of Psychology to lead the establishment of a Department of Psychology.

She has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Resources for the past six years and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Science and Engineering since 2007. She is currently a member of the University’s senior executive groups.

“Joining the board is an exciting opportunity,” she said. “Health is of vital importance in everyone’s life. I am looking forward to working with the directors and other colleagues in the Trust to ensure that the local community has the best possible hospitals, delivering high quality patient care.”

Trust Chairman Sir Peter Dixon said: “I am delighted to welcome Christine as a non-executive board member.

“She has a distinguished academic career and has been a very successful member of the senior management team at the University of Essex, and her wide-ranging skills will be of enormous benefit to the Trust.”

Professor Temple graduated in psychology and then spent several years carrying out research in human neuropsychology for the Medical Research Council in Oxford before becoming a lecturer and then Reader in Neuropsychology at the University of London for six years.

As a neuropsychologist, she has worked with the NHS throughout her career and also currently has responsibility for the University’s School of Health and Human Sciences.

Her research career has included a particular interest in disorders of language and memory and she has worked with diverse clinical populations, from gun-shot injured war veterans to children with genetic disorders. She is also involved in medical charity work.

Professor Temple will receive an annual income of £11,000. Her appointment is for an initial three years, subject to satisfactory annual appraisal, and may be renewed up to a maximum of six years.

Non-executive directors help develop strategy and scrutinise performance. They have a key role in providing leadership inside the Trust and acting as external ambassadors for the organisation.