John, who lives in Hove, has had a distinguished career within the NHS and was formerly responsible for the performance of the NHS in England at the Department of Health.

His appointment, made by the Appointments Commission, runs for four years from April 1 2008 to March 31 2012.

He succeeds Pam Oates, from Eastbourne, who has decided to step down from the role of chair in order to devote more time to her outside business career as a chartered surveyor, but will continue to sit on the board as a non-executive director.

Her appointment as a non-executive director runs from April 1 2008 until March 31 2009.

Chief executive Lisa Rodrigues thanked Pam for her contribution to Sussex Partnership.

"As a previous non-executive director, vice-chair, and more recently chair of the trust, Pam Oates has used her wide experience and knowledge to help improve mental health and related services in Sussex.

"During her time as chair we have agreed a five-year strategy to improve our services for the benefit of those who use them, and we have launched our application to become an NHS foundation trust.

"On behalf of the board of Sussex Partnership, may I wish Pam every success with her outside business interests.

"I also look forward to continuing to work with her as a non-executive director at the trust.

"I am also delighted to welcome John Bacon to his new role as leader of the board. His top level track record and experience speak for themselves.

"We are all looking forward to working with him and taking the Trust from strength to strength."

John Bacon has a background in NHS financial and general management. He joined the NHS in 1983 and held a series of top posts at regional level and at the Department of Health.

His last NHS role, from 2003 to 2006, was as director of service delivery. In this post he was responsible for the performance of the NHS in England, and within the Department of Health had oversight of finance, capital investment (including PFI schemes) education and training and relations with the private sector.

He said, "I am really excited to be appointed to the role of chair of Sussex Partnership. I know that in its short history the Trust has already established a strong reputation and I look forward to helping it develop into a truly outstanding specialist provider of mental health, learning disability and substance misuse services."

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