East Coast Community Healthcare has announced the appointment of Dr Andy Wood OBE as the new Chair of its Board.

Andy Wood has been chief executive of Adnams brewery since 2010. He is also Chair of Norse Group, an Independent Director at the University of East Anglia and Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk.

ECCH provides a wide variety of NHS community services across Norfolk and Suffolk, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and cardiac rehabilitation. It has multi-disciplinary teams of nurses and therapists who provide care for people in their own homes to avoid them having to go to hospital, and it runs Beccles Intermediate Care Unit. It is a community interest company which means it does not exist to make a profit but instead reinvests any surplus resources into enhancing its services for the benefit of patients, and into supporting local good causes.

ECCH chief executive Ian Hutchison said: “Andy will bring a great deal of experience to help us grow our organisation. He also has a proven track record for supporting local communities through business, and for championing sustainability and innovation which, as a social enterprise, are key focuses for ECCH.”

Andy said: “I was attracted to ECCH because it does much needed work in communities across Norfolk and Waveney. Further, ECCH is an organisation owned entirely by its employees and as such can be an innovative, creative and enterprising partner within the wider Norfolk and Suffolk healthcare system.”

ECCH’s previous Chair, Tony Osmanski, ended his term of office in September after six years in the role.