NHS England has announced changes to its leadership team, with three leading board members taking the decision to stand down at the end of March, ahead of a restructure which could see the body halve in size.
Chief Financial Officer Julian Kelly, NHS Chief Operating Officer Emily Lawson and Chief Delivery Officer and National Director for Vaccination and Screening Steve Russell all informed colleagues on 10 March that they will leave their roles in the coming weeks.
In a message to all staff today, NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard (pictured) – who is herself standing down at the end of this month - said that as part of the upcoming changes to the size and function of the centre, they have decided that now is the right time to step down.
As part of the need to make best possible use of taxpayers’ money to support frontline services, the size of NHS England will be radically reduced and could see the size of the centre decrease by around half. Sir James Mackey, who will begin his new role as Transition CEO at the start of April, will set up a transition team within NHS England to lead the radical reduction and reshaping of the centre with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Julian Kelly joined NHS England in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer, having previously been Director General of Public Spending and Finance at the Treasury and Director General Nuclear at the Ministry of Defence.
Emily Lawson joined NHS England in 2017 – she went on to lead the hugely successful NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, which protected millions of people and saved thousands of lives.
Chief Delivery Officer and National Director for Vaccinations and Screening, Steve Russell joined NHS England in 2022 to lead the vaccination programmes – and helped drive the roll-out of the first ever jab against RSV. He also led the NHS England merger with NHS Digital and Health Education England.