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Experienced NHS Boss Takes Over From Simon Stevens As NHS Chief

Amanda Pritchard is to become the first female chief executive of the NHS in England after being appointed to replace Simon Stevens.

Unlike Stevens who was ex CEO of United Health’s European wing, the 6th largest Healthcare Company in the USA; Ms Pritchard has had 25 years experience working in the NHS.

However, it is feared that as she has been the right-hand person to Stevens through the duration of NHS England’s principled change to American-style healthcare as stated in the NHS 5 Year Plan; that more of the same American modelling and private healthcare company involvement in the NHS will continues unabated.

Giving the full support to the Health & Care Bill has been Pritchard’s last item on her CV no doubt, and there is no reason to believe that her tenure of the NHS will change from that of Stevens.

Pritchard began her work in the NHS as a management trainee, in the late 1990s, before holding senior posts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

From 2005 to 2006, she worked in the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and spent nearly four years as Guy's and St Thomas' chief executive before becoming NHS England's chief operating officer in the summer of 2019.

In her current role she has worked as Simon Stevens deputy; hence her appointment being of no surprise.

NHS campaign groups will no doubt take the opportunity to ask what her priorities for the NHS are and will no doubt hope to influence them, but that is highly unlikely given her appointment has been a political appointment and that NHS England now is fully integrated with American private healthcare data companies and healthcare providers from the UK and US private sectors.

Indeed, the Health and Care Bill has been drafted by them and a secret No 10 committee consisting of employees of Centene, The Kings Fund, and right-wing thin tanks whose policy of abolishing the NHS has influenced Governments from Tony Blair until the existing Tory extreme right-wing government.

However, campaign group 38 Degrees is promoting their latest NHS campaign and asking people to give their opinion on the priorities that Ms Pritchard as head of the NHS should have.

You can give your opinion by clicking on the pic to the left.

Comments from undoubtedly NHS connected readers left on the Health Service Journal website confirming her appointment, where not always complimentary:

"What a ludicrously expensive and tortuous process to just appoint Prior’s incumbent choice, no doubt Stevens in background pulling strings. If ever the NHS needed some hope, optimism and new ideas it is now. Unless she has been keeping something a secret all this time I assume we are in for more of the same; toxic, bloated, arrogant centre, nothing on workforce, complete mess of warm words and caustic behaviour, disastrous ill-planned and poorly executed organisational change when least needed etc etc"

And yet another:

"Here we go, what a surprise, just more of the same. They should have appointed Mark Britnell who has studied health care across the World and has some great ideas on how to make the NHS system better. Completely wasted opportunity."

Source: HSJ / BBC News / 38 Degrees

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