A NURSE turned manager has been named as the new chief executive of Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (Tenyas) NHS.

Jayne Barnes, who started out as a nurse at Leeds General Infirmary 25 years ago before climbing the rungs in NHS management and gaining a CBE on the way, will become the new boss at Tenyas on June 1.

The 43-year-old is currently director of nursing at the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (Wymas).

Mrs Barnes moved to Wymas in 1998 to develop NHS Direct in West Yorkshire. She was also the driving force behind the establishment of NHS Professionals, the NHS flexible staffing service.

For the past two years, Mrs Barnes has come to know Tenyas well through her advisory role on its trust board.

Mrs Barnes said: "Over the past two years I have really enjoyed the work I have carried out with colleagues at Tenyas and I am absolutely delighted at this opportunity to lead the organisation forward."

In welcoming Mrs Barnes, Tenyas chairman David Taylor said: "Jayne will be joining a strong management team and will be facing many challenges. Tenyas is coming to the end of a period of uncertainty concerning possible absorption into the North-East Ambulance Service, which has now been shelved."

Mrs Barnes lives in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, with her husband, Chris, a superintendent with West Yorkshire Police. They have a daughter, Francesca, aged ten.