Elspeth DevanneyRegulator

Biography

Elspeth Devanney is Group Director of Nursing and Quality at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), the NHS mental health, learning disability and eating disorders trust serving a population of around two million people across County Durham, Darlington and North Yorkshire. She has held a series of progressively senior roles within TEWV, including Head of Service in Adult Mental Health Services and Acting Director of Operations for Teesside, before taking on her current executive position. In her current role she represents TEWV as a member of the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board. She has spoken publicly on the quality of care provided by the trust, acknowledging challenges and arguing that TEWV is working to rebuild public confidence and improve services. She has also been the trust's spokesperson at coroner inquests, including issuing the trust's response to a Prevention of Future Deaths report following the death of a patient who had been in contact with TEWV's community mental health services.

References

1. 1.Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board Minutes – 9 April 2025 — Confirms Elspeth Devanney's title as Group Director of Nursing & Quality at TEWV and her membership of the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board
2. 2.Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board Minutes – 11 December 2024 — Further confirms her title and TSAB membership representing TEWV
3. 3.Coroner issues Prevention of Future Deaths Report after death of Malton woman Victoria Taylor – ITV News Calendar — Quotes Devanney as 'group director for nursing and quality at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust' responding to a Prevention of Future Deaths report
4. 4.Woman 'wanted to take own life' after using mental health trust - but TEWV is 'turning a corner' – Teesside Live — Quotes Devanney as Director of Nursing and Quality acknowledging trust challenges and arguing for improvement; references body-worn cameras on wards

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Mental health service quality
• Nursing leadership
• Patient safety
• Adult safeguarding
• Community mental health services
• CQC compliance and inspection

Notable achievements

• Served as TEWV's Group Director of Nursing and Quality and represented the trust as a member of the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board, a statutory body covering four Tees local authority boroughs. Source ↗
• Issued the trust's formal response to a coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death of Victoria Taylor, a patient who had been in contact with TEWV community mental health services. Source ↗
• Publicly acknowledged the need for TEWV to rebuild public trust following a period of scrutiny, stating the trust was 'beginning to show signs of improving and turning the corner'. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “Following Victoria's tragic death, we completed a review and have made changes to improve our services. We will respond to the coroner's report and take action to continue to improve and provide high-quality care to the people in our communities.”

  group director for nursing and quality at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Family of nurse found dead in river say she was failed by ‘systemic neglect’ ↗

Source references

1. Family of nurse found dead in river say she was failed by ‘systemic neglect’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/elspeth-devanney-ba945a132
• Staff pagehttps://www.tewv.nhs.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office emailcommunications@tewv.nhs.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone0300 200 0010published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.