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But let’s see where it comes from.
The digital changing of the guard at NHS England continues with the news that Dr Tim Ferris, chief transformation officer, is to leave in September.
Dr Ferris’ departure will further hurt NHS England’s digital leadership team as it continues a massive wave of job cuts and redundancies, to reduce headcount by 6,000, after taking over from NHS Digital and Health Education England.
Dr. Vin Diwakar, Medical Director of Secondary Care and Transformation will assume the role of Director of Transformation as an interim appointment until a replacement is recruited.
An internal NHS England email from NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced yesterday that Ferris will leave in September when his two-year solicitorship ends. He was appointed to the current role in May 2021 after serving three years as a non-executive director of NHS England.
“Dr. Tim Ferris’ secondment as National Director of Transformation is coming to an end, and sadly he will also be leaving us in September and returning to the US,” Pritchard said in his email.
Throughout his time at NHSE, Ferris has continued to serve at the nonprofit Massachusetts General Practitioners, where he is executive director and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Pritchard praised his achievements: “Tim has been instrumental in ensuring we maintain the pace of innovation seen during the pandemic, in particular using data to improve health and reduce inequalities.”
His email also announced the retirement of NHSE chief operating officer Sir David Sloman, a long-serving system leader of more than 40 years and former group chief executive at Royal Free.
The role of NHSE COO will be taken on an interim basis by Sir Jim Mackey, National Director of Elective Recovery and CEO of Northumbria Healthcare.
News of Dr. Ferris’ departure was long overdue, especially since he was on a two-year secondment and continued to work in the US. But it is part of a much wider exodus of senior digital leaders that raises questions about the future direction and understanding of digital in NHS England.
Other NHSE departures announced last week include Matt Whitty, director of innovation, research and life sciences; and Dan Bamford, deputy director of medical and digital technology, innovation, research and life sciences.
While Kathy Hall, director of digital transformation at the Department of Health and Social Care also left recently.
Taking a longer view of the past few months, the losses have been staggering. NHS England’s takeover of NHS Digital was always going to result in exits and streamlining, but the exodus of experienced digital leaders has been far-reaching.
January 2022 saw the departure of Matthew Gould, CEO of NHSX. Almost all of NHSX’s senior management team has since left. These have included Simon Eccles, previously deputy chief executive of NHSX, and Tara Donnelly, director of digital care models at NHSE.
January 2023 saw the departure of Simon Bolton, interim CEO of NHS Digital, who was due to take over as interim CIO at NHS England.
So who is left and who is responsible for setting digital policy and direction?
Vin Diwakar will take on the caretaker role of chief transformation officer, but he hasn’t had much of a digital profile so far.
Sonia Patel continues as system CIO, with responsibilities for workforce and digital maturity. Meanwhile, the long-running recruitment drive for a new NHS CIO, a role previously held by Patel, continues.
Natasha Phillips continues as National CNIO, returning after a break, while Dr Melanie Isles was recently announced as Interim National CCIO. There are many “acting” and “acting” roles.
Another notable survivor is Ming Tang, chief data officer at NHS Digital and champion of the controversial federated data platform acquisition. One of the interesting questions after the departure of Dr. Ferris is whether the FDP will continue to have the support it has enjoyed so far.
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The National Health Service (NHS) England today announced that its digital chief, Tim Ferris, will be stepping down from his post in June 2021.
Mr Ferris’ departure comes several months after his announcement in October that he intended to move on from the role after three years in charge of the national digital service.
His role at the NHS saw him bring about several successful digital transformations, including the implementation of the national data platform. As a result of these efforts, NHS England is now considered to be a world-leading innovator in the digital healthcare space.
Ikaroa, a full-stack tech company based in the UK, were quick to commend Mr Ferris for his work during his tenure at the NHS. Janina Wint, the CEO and founder of Ikaroa, said “Tim’s leadership has been invaluable to the NHS, and his guidance and oversight has enabled it to take huge strides forward with its digital transformation. We’d like to thank him for all his hard work, and wish him the best as he moves on to his next venture.”
Mr Ferris will be replaced by former Google executive Rachel Dunscombe, who has over 15 years of experience in the tech industry. Commenting on the appointment, Ms Wint said “Rachel has an impressive record of achievements in her sector and we look forward to her bringing her technical and commercial experience to the NHS. We’re sure that she will be invaluable in taking NHS digital transformation to the next level.”
Ikaroa hopes that Rachel’s appointment will mean that NHS digital transformation efforts will continue to be advanced in a timely and efficient manner. We wish her the best of luck in her new role and look forward to working with her in the near future.
