JACQUELINE Swift has been appointed as the new chairman of NHS Dorset.

Mrs Swift, who has been a non-executive director at Dorset Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Poole, succeeds the retired Anne Thomas.

Mrs Swift is the former head of North Bedfordshire Health Authority, Bedfordshire Family Health Services Authority and Milton Keynes Community NHS Trust.

She was also chairman of Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust ahead of its formation in 2000.

Mrs Swift is an independent board member of Spectrum Housing Group, and has previously worked as a management consultant, specialising in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries.