Bradford District Care Trust has announced the appointment of its new chairman.

Mike Smith, 65, has been formally given the role after five months working as acting chairman and four years as a non-executive director with the Trust, which provides community, mental health, social care and specialist learning disability services across Bradford, Airedale and Craven districts.

Mr Smith said: “I am delighted to be taking up the role on a permanent basis. The NHS is going through a significant period of change and I am committed that throughout this time we will continue to live our values and uphold our quality promise and keep the individual at the centre of all that we do.

“This is a great organisation and I am immensely proud of the work our staff do and humbled by the way they approach supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Mr Smith said the Care Trust, which is working towards Foundation Trust status next year, would be leading the way nationally with the development of local teams, which for the first time will bring together mental health and community health services.

“Our ethos is You and Your Care and this will genuinely deliver services focused on the local needs of local communities,” said Mr Smith.

“It is an opportunity to get beneath health inequalities and address them. This is my strong ambition.

“Bringing services together will start to tackle some of the stigma associated with mental health. Mental health, physical health and social wellbeing go hand in hand. By bringing services together we have a real opportunity to provide services that are leading in the UK, designed for the people of Bradford, Airedale and Craven.”

Simon Large, chief executive of the Care Trust, said: “I am delighted to announce Mike Smith as our new chairman. His skills and experience will be invaluable to us over the coming years as we transform our organisation and work towards our vision of being recognised as one of the country’s leading provider of integrated community healthcare services.”

Mr Smith replaces Barry Seal. Prior to joining the Trust he held a number of senior management positions in the water industry, culminating in director of human resources at Yorkshire Water .

Mr Smith, who is Bradford born and bred, has also been involved with voluntary organisations supporting people with learning disabilities. He has been a trustee of Dark Horse theatre company for five years.

Mr Smith will be at the Care Trust’s annual meeting tomorrow. Members of the public are invited to the event at 11.30am at the Abundant Life Conference Centre in Bradford. People can take advantage of free health checks.

Oral health, speech and language therapy, home safety, infection prevention and relaxation and wellbeing are just some of the other stalls that will be manned by staff from the Trust.