Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has confirmed that Dr Penny Dash (pictured) will be the new Chair of NHS England.
Dr Dash is currently the Chair of the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board, and is leading a major review into the regulation of health and social care quality in England. The Department of Health and Social Care says her interim report, published last year, ‘shone a light on the scale of the failure at the Care Quality Commission, and sparked the appointment of new leadership to turn around the health and care regulator’.
A former NHS doctor, senior partner at McKinsey and Company working on healthcare globally, and DHSC head of Strategy, Dr Dash has ‘a wealth of experience’ in the public, private, and government sectors. The Department said: “As Chair of NHS England, she will be drawing on her vast knowledge in these fields to focus on rebuilding the NHS as part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.”
Dr Dash was selected following an open public appointment process to appoint a successor to Richard Meddings, who is due to step down next month.
Wes Streeting said: “Dr Penny Dash is a radical reformer, with the skills and experience we need to help fix our broken NHS and make it fit for the future. I look forward to working with her as we continue to tackle the waiting list backlog, unleash innovation in health services, and support our healthcare staff to deliver the timely care that patients deserve. I’d also like to thank Richard Meddings for his dedicated service, helping to guide the NHS through the aftermath of the pandemic.”
The appointment, for a four-year term, begins on 1 April 2025.
