The Appointments Commission, the body charged with the appointment of the Chair and non-executive directors of NHS Direct has appointed a permanent Chair to take the Trust into the next decade
A permanent Chief Information Officer, Director of Strategy and Planning, and three new Regional Directors have also been appointed.
Joanne Shaw has been appointed as Chair of NHS Direct for the next four years. Joanne has been acting Chair of NHS Direct since August 2008, providing authoritative leadership to the Chief Executive and the Non-executive and Executive Directors. As permanent Chair, Joanne will ensure that NHS Direct continues to lead the development of remote and digital health services to support users and the wider NHS.
In addition to her role at NHS Direct, Joanne is Chair of Datapharm Communications, which provides digital medicines information to the NHS, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. Until August 2008, she was a Trustee of the Long-term Conditions Alliance and chaired the not-for-profit company behind 'Ask About Medicines': the independent campaign to increase people's involvement in decisions about their use of medicines.
Alan Bentall has been appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO). Alan was seconded to the Trust as interim CIO in 2008 from the professional services firm Deloitte, where he was an Associate Partner in the Technology Integration Practice. Alan has over 25 years’ experience in the software and telecommunications industry, more recently focusing on the delivery of major technology-enabled business change programmes in the public sector.
Ruth Rankine has been appointed Director of Strategy and Planning. Ruth was seconded to NHS Direct in October 2007 from the Department of Health where she was latterly Principal Private Secretary to the NHS Chief Executive and the Permanent Secretary. Prior to that, Ruth held a number of posts outside the Department of Health including Director of Emergency Care for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust & Leeds PCTs and Programme Director for the GP contract negotiations working for the NHS Confederation.
NHS Direct has also appointed three new Regional Directors who will take up their posts in February. Simon Jones will be covering the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs). He joins us from Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust, where he is currently Director of Strategic Planning. Lisa Hodgson will work with South Central and South East Coast SHAs and joins NHS Direct from South Central Ambulance NHS Trust where she is Executive Director of Service Development. Finally, Dave Tee, currently Associate Director of Business Development at NHS Direct will be heading up our work with the London SHA.
