Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors

Two integrated care board chief executives and a trust CEO have been appointed as part-time national directors at NHS England.

The three, who will not be paid for the NHSE work and will also remain in their current roles, are:

Sam Allen, chief executive at North East and North Cumbria ICB, who will be national director for management and leadership, with responsibility for “driving forward work on management and leadership development”.

Jan Thomas, who leads Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB, will be national director of the intensive support and recovery support programme, “ensuring robust diagnostics, resource allocation, and coherent integration across NHS England”.

And Therese Patten, CEO of Bradford District Care Foundation Trust, who has been named national director for “place” development, reporting to chief delivery officer and national director for vaccinations and screening Steve Russell. She will advise NHSE on developing placed-based work, “reviewing best practice models” and developing the role of integrated care partnerships.

In a note to staff, NHSE noted that the appointments come in the “context of Lord Darzi’s report” on NHS performance – which Wes Streeting said should be taken as “gospel” and found a litany of problems across the NHS – and come at a “pivotal time for our organisation and the wider NHS”. 

Commenting on her appointment, Ms Allen, who was previously CEO of Sussex Partnership NHS FT, acknowledged “it is clear that we have much work to do together to address the management and leadership challenges that have been widely reported over recent months and years”.

A key part of her role will be ensuring “there is development and support available for our managers and leaders”, added Ms Allen.

Ms Thomas said she would work to “ensure that when NHS organisations are facing challenges, they receive the support they need swiftly and effectively”.

Previously, Ms Thomas has held senior roles across both private healthcare and the NHS, and started her career as a nurse. 

NHSE chief executive Amanda Pritchard said “many of the solutions to the problems the NHS faces today can be found in the work already happening across the service”, and that each appointee brings “a wealth of experience to areas fundamental to improving patient care”.