David Nicholson (civil servant)

For other people named David Nicholson, see David Nicholson (disambiguation).

David Nicholson

Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE is Chief Executive of the English National Health Service, appointed in September 2006.

Education

Nicholson was educated at Forest Fields Grammar School in Nottingham, and graduated from Bristol University with a 2:1 in History and Politics.

Career

Nicholson joined the NHS on graduation, and then the Communist Party of Great Britain. He remained a member of the CPGB until 1983.^[1]

For 10 years he worked in mental health, mainly in Yorkshire, where he was involved in implementing the policy of closing the old asylums and developing care in the community services.^[2]

In 1988, Nicholson moved into the acute hospital sector, appointed as the Chief Executive of the Doncaster and Montague NHS Hospitals Trust, a first-wave NHS trust brought in under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He introduced Clinical Directorates there in 1988 and the Trust was a national pilot for Total Quality Management. Under his leadership the Trust promised all staff "a job for life, it may not be the job you are doing now, but you have a job for life with this trust". The promise was printed in various Trust documents including the "Strategic Direction". In 1997, he moved to the Trent NHS Regional Office as the Regional Director of Performance before being appointed as Regional Director in November 2000.^[2]

Nicholson was then made Regional Director for the old Eastern and West Midlands Regions between December 2001 and March 2002, combining these responsibilities with his Trent role whilst shadowing as Director of Health and Social Care (designate) for the Midlands and East of England. In April 2002 he formally took up the post of Director of Health and Social Care for the Midlands and East of England.^[2]

In 2003 he was appointed Chief Executive of Birmingham and The Black Country Strategic Health Authority (BBC SHA). In August 2005 he was asked to take on the additional roles of Chief Executive of neighbouring Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA and West Midlands South SHA.^[2]

In April 2006 he was appointed Chief Executive of the newly formed London Strategic Health Authority. However he had little opportunity to make his mark, as it was announced on 27 July 2006 that he would be taking up the role of NHS Chief Executive in September 2006 in charge of a £90bn budget and 1.3m employees,^[3] his fifth job-change in a year.^[1][2] Nicholson was involved in an expenses scandal when it was revealed that he gets a £37,600-a-year allowance for working away from home on top of his £215,000 salary for his London based job.^[4]

Nicholson was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2004 New Years Honours list, and received the honorary award of Doctor of the University from the University of Central England, Birmingham.^[5] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2010 New Year Honours.^[6]

Personal life

Divorced from his first wife, the family home was in Harrogate, and the couple have two sons.(one a recent graduate and one studying at University). He is presently engaged to Sarah-Jane Marsh, who was a former intern on the NHS-graduate scheme, and is now the £155,000 Chief Executive of Birmingham Children's Hospital.^[4]

Nicholson is a passionate supporter of Nottingham Forest Football Club.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Private Eye, 27.10.2006, p. 10.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} John Carvel (2006-09-13). "Right on with reform". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/sep/13/health.healthandwellbeing. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
3. ^ Weaver, Matthew (2006-07-27). "New NHS chief appointed". Guardian Unlimited Politics (London). http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,,1831631,00.html. Retrieved 2006-07-27. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Youngest hospital boss who is earning £155k aged just 32... and the NHS chief (52) who happens to be her fiancé". Daily Mail. 2009-10-11. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1219544/Youngest-hospital-boss-earning-155k-aged-just-32--NHS-chief-52-happens-fianc.html. Retrieved 2009-10-11. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "UCE honours key NHS leader". University of Central England. http://www.uce.ac.uk/web2/newsline/pages/people101.html. Retrieved 2006-07-27. 
6. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59282. p. 2. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.

External links

Media related to David Nicholson at Wikimedia Commons

• Bio at NHS

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