NHS England has appointed a new interim London director who will take over from Sir David Sloman, who recently became NHS England’s interim Chief Operating Officer in a matter of months. Andrew Ridley will lead the London regional office on an interim basis. Mr Ridley has been working up until now as Chief Executive of Central London Community Healthcare Trust. He has previously held roles such as NHS England regional director for the south of England from 2014 to 2016, and CEO at Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust between 2005 and 2011.
NHS England’s announcement also stated that Sir Jim Mackey would ”lead our national elective recovery effort, as the [senior responsible officer] and national director of elective recovery”. Sir Jim has previously led NHS Improvement, and worked as Chief Executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Sir Jim’s role in elective recovery is certain to be challenging, with backlog figures soaring. He recently said that “NHS capacity “will not materially change for two to three years” and that he is unsure whether the overall waiting list size will be reduced by 2025.
The NHS is under pressure from politicians and Government departments to agree specific targets for the reduction of waiting lists. It is bound to be a key issue during the next general election, expected in 2024.
