NHSE director to step down after seven months

An NHS England non-executive director who is also the only GP on the organisation’s board will leave her post seven months after being appointed.

Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, a GP in the West Midlands and former chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Royal College of GPs, has been appointed chief medical officer for New Zealand’s public healthcare system, Health New Zealand. 

She was appointed as an NHSE non-executive in February alongside three other non-executive directors, nearly a year after the posts were advertised, and is the only GP on the NHSE board. A spokesman confirmed she would leave the NED post in September.

Dame Helen is also a professor of medical education at Birmingham University, chair of the National Academy of Social Prescribing, a trustee at Macmillan, and recently finished her fixed term as the chair of the Academy of Medical Colleges.

Commenting on her departure, Richard Meddings, NHSE chair, said: “[Dame Helen] has made a significant contribution in her relatively short time on the NHS England Board, in particular bringing her leadership and practical experience in primary care.” 

Richard Sullivan, chief clinical officer at Health New Zealand, said: “Dame Helen is genuinely excited about moving to New Zealand to take up the role.”