Remembering Fiona Weir

It’s with great sadness that we heard of the death of Fiona Weir in recent days.

Fiona was a Board Member of St Martins from May 2016 to January 2022, but in particular, was Chair of the Board of Trustees from May 2020, when St Martins faced some significant challenges, during which Fiona’s calm leadership, guidance, drive, and unrelenting work ethic provided the route to the calmer, more confident organisation we are today.

Fiona had already had a distinguished career in the NHS, with her last role as Service Director for Mental Health inpatients and Acute Care at North East NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT). Her breath of experience made her an ideal candidate for Trustee when she first joined in 2016, which coincided with her retirement from the NHS. However, in 2020 she had to step temporarily into a full-time role with us, acting at one point as both CEO and Chair until Malcolm Campbell was appointed as CEO.

During this period she was the driving force behind modernising St Martins, creating a new image for the organisation, restoring credibility with our external partners, and introducing digital care systems. Managers remember her in particular for investing in staff development and changing a blame culture to a learning culture.

As the current Chair and CEO, we would like to recognise the significant contribution, Fiona made to St Martins.

The thoughts of everyone at St Martins are with her family at this time.

Tim Bishop (he/him)    Paul Hardisty

Board Chair                  CEO

St Martin of Tours Housing Association