Amanda Pritchard, who has been CEO of NHS England since August 2021, and Chief Operating Officer since 2019 – ‘leading the NHS through the most challenging period in its 76-year history’ – has notified the NHS England Board of her decision to stand down as NHS England CEO at the end of this financial year.
NHS England says that having discussed her departure with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in recent months, and ‘now that the NHS has turned a corner on recovery from the pandemic, and the foundations are in place to make the necessary changes to the centre to best support the wider service’, she has decided ‘now is the right time to stand down’.
Sir James Mackey, currently CEO of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and National director of Elective Recovery – who has ‘demonstrable experience of leadership at a local, regional, and national level’, will take over as ‘Transition CEO’ of NHS England on 1 April.
NHS England said: “During Amanda’s time as Chief Executive, the NHS has responded to the Omicron wave of COVID-19 – protecting tens of millions of adults in England with a booster vaccine, published the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, and turned the corner on the inevitable impacts of the pandemic – with A&E waiting times, elective and cancer performance, acute sector productivity, and staff survey results, all now improving.”
Under its current CEO’s leadership, NHS England has also reduced its headcount by over a third, and made savings of nearly £500 million to re-invest in frontline care. She has simultaneously overseen reforms in the Health and Care Act 2022 – including the replacement of almost 200 Clinical Commissioning Groups with 42 ICBs, major improvements in the NHS’s digital infrastructure – including ‘far more services available’ through the NHS App and the rollout of virtual wards, and ‘the forging of groundbreaking partnerships to improve care options for patients’.
Heer successor, Sir Jim Mackey, has previous experience of national leadership within the NHS – notably during his previous tenure as NHS Improvement CEO.
Amanda Pritchard, the first woman in the health service’s history to hold the post of CEO, began her NHS career as a graduate management trainee in 1997 after studying at Oxford University, and has held a variety of other NHS management positions. Before joining NHS England, she was CEO of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, was previously Deputy CEO at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, and served as a health team leader in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit.
