National tech director to step down

A national tech chief is set to step down in the spring after less than two years in the role.

John Quinn, who was appointed substantively as NHS England’s chief information officer in June 2023, will step down in March as he is “prioritising a reduced working pattern and taking on greater caring responsibilities”, according to a post on LinkedIn by national director of transformation Vin Diwakar.

Mr Quinn had previously held the role on an interim basis following the merger of NHS Digital into NHSE and the departure of NHSD CIO Simon Bolton in February 2023, and prior to that was NHSD director of IT operations and enterprise services.

Posting on LinkedIn, Dr Diwakar said there is now an “exciting opportunity to bring in new talent and perspectives” to the CIO role, and that recruitment for a substantive replacement would begin “in due course”. An interim appointment is expected “in the coming weeks”.

Dr Diwakar said: “John’s contributions to NHS England have been invaluable. His leadership of the digital team through the merger, his dedication to delivering a major portfolio, and his commitment to building strong relationships with the government have been truly remarkable. We are enormously grateful for his commitment and vision.

“Looking ahead, this presents an exciting opportunity to bring in new talent and perspectives to the CIO role. We will be conducting a search for a permanent CIO in due course. In the meantime, we will put in place interim arrangements to ensure a seamless transition and will share more details with you in the coming weeks.”

The primary role of the national CIO is to oversee technical IT infrastructure. In September, Mr Quinn commissioned a “rapid review” of trusts’ electronic patient record plans to determine what further support was needed.