Update on arrangements to strengthen management of the transition

Read the statement below from the Department of Health website with regard to new appointments made last week

Last Thursday, 11th August, alongside the SHA cluster chairs, Sir David Nicholson interviewed for the SHA cluster chief executive posts and the following appointments were made:

• Ian Dalton CBE to the post of chief executive of NHS North of England.
• Sir Ian Carruthers to the post of chief executive of NHS South of England.
• Sir Neil McKay to the post of chief executive of NHS Midlands and East.
• Dame Ruth Carnall continues as chief executive of NHS London.
• SHA cluster chief executives will assume their roles on Monday 3 October 2011.  Until that time, all existing SHA chief executives and interim SHA chief executives will remain in place.
• Ian Cumming OBE, currently chief executive of NHS West Midlands and the lead SHA chief executive on quality, will be taking on a new national leadership role as managing director for quality during transition. He will lead on five key areas of work that include maintaining quality and safety during transition; identifying the quality architecture for the new health care system; and developing a standardised set of quality metrics.
• Candy Morris CBE, currently chief executive of NHS South East Coast, will be taking up a new national leadership role as the Senior Responsible Officer for the establishment of the Health Research Authority.  In addition, to ensure some continuity through the transition period, Candy will support Sir Ian Carruthers, once in post as chief executive of the South of England SHA cluster, in leading specific work across the South of England.
• Andrea Young, currently chief executive of NHS South Central has expressed her intention to play a significant role in the South of England cluster, whilst supporting the establishment and successful operation of the NHS Commissioning Board post 2013.

Senior Responsible Officers (SRO): Setting Up the New National Bodies

A number of appointments have also been made to lead the establishment of the new national bodies over the past few weeks.  These individuals will lead this work during the transition until chief executives are appointed or are able to take up the helm.
As previously announced in July, Bill McCarthy is the Managing Director responsible for the set up of the NHS Commissioning Board.

Ian Dalton will continue as SRO for the set up of the NHS Trust Development Authority, and will continue to lead the FT pipeline work nationally, alongside his SHA cluster role.
However, now that Ian Dalton is taking up his new role in the North, Richard Douglas will become SRO for the development of the new system of economic regulation.

Katie Davis, who recently replaced Christine Connelly at the Department of Health, is SRO for the establishment of an informatics solution.

Anita Marsland is Managing Director for Public Health transition.
We will shortly launch a process to appoint an SRO for Health Education England.

Governance

A significant governance review is also underway in order to give the health and care system the strongest foundation up to the end of March 2013.

Welcoming the appointments, Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS said:
“These key senior appointments will put us in the best position to manage the transition through to April 2013, ensuring quality and safety for our patients.

“Managing transition is about keeping a tight grip on today’s service performance, finances and delivery, whilst simultaneously putting in place tomorrow’s new world architecture.
“SHA clusters are an important part of our approach to managing transition across the system in a consistent and efficient way.

“I have every confidence in these appointments – both to the SHA clusters and to the other senior leadership roles.

“By putting the current regional arrangements on the same initial footprint as the NHS Commissioning Board and potentially other new organisations, the SHA clusters form an important step in the journey to the new system.

“I would also like to put my thanks on record to Mark Ogden, Kevin Orford and David Stout, who have all done an outstanding job as interim SHA chief executives.”