AN NHS recruit got a surprise when she met the head of the service on her first day.
Barbara Bright, 36, was taken on by Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) under the Gateway to Leadership scheme, the idea of National Health Service chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp.
On her first day, Sir Nigel visited Darlington PCT chief executive Colin Morris.
Mrs Bright, the trust's workforce modernisation lead officer, is one of 56 people who have been recruited nationally as part of the scheme to employ senior staff from outside the NHS.
The mother-of-two, from Yarm, said: "It was a real surprise, but nice to meet Sir Nigel.
"I think he was pleased to meet someone taken on under his scheme."
Mrs Bright had been working for the National Care Standards Commission. Before that, she was human resources planning manager at Teesside University.
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