Richard Jeavons is to join the Department of Health as Director of IT
Service Implementation. Mr Jeavons takes over from Alan Burns, who is
standing down from his IT role after becoming chief executive of
Norfolk, Suffok and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority.
Mr Jeavons is currently Senior Responsible Owner for the North East
Cluster of NHS Connecting for Health and chief executive of West
Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA). He is standing down from
both these posts in order to concentrate full-time on his role in
leading clinical and management engagement in the IT modernisation
programme.
John Bacon, the Department of Health's Director of Delivery and
overall Senior Responsible Owner for the national IT programme, said:
'I am delighted that Richard is taking on this role. He will build on
the excellent work done by Alan Burns. This full-time appointment
signals the importance we attach to ensuring the national IT
programme is implemented across the NHS, delivering real improvements
in safety and quality of care and making patients' choice a reality.'
Richard Jeavons said:
'New and better information technology is fundamental for the NHS's
ambition to achieve the highest quality and safety standards for
patients. I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to
play this part in achieving that ambition.'
Mike Farrar, Chief Executive of South Yorkshire Strategic Health
Authority, will be seconded to the post of Chief Executive of West
Yorkshire SHA. His Deputy and South Yorkshire SHA Director of
Finance, Alan Wittrick, will act up as Chief Executive of South
Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority.
Alan Burns will continue as Chief Executive of Trent SHA. He is
taking on the role of chief executive of Norfolk Suffolk and
Cambridgeshire SHA after former chief executive Peter Houghton left
to take up the post of Director of the National Leadership Network
for the NHS. Mr Burns is standing down from his role as Senior
Responsible Owner for the East Midlands and Eastern Cluster of the
National Programme for IT. He will be replaced in this role by John
de Braux, chief executive of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA.
Biographical details:
Richard Jeavons graduated from Edinburgh and York universities before
spending seven years working as a health economist, initially in the
NHS, but later as deputy director and senior research fellow at the
health economics consortium, University of York. He moved into NHS
management in 1989 as director of business and resource management at
the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield. This was followed by nearly
four years as chief executive of Sheffield Children's Hospital before
joining Lincolnshire Health Authority at the start of 1998. In July
2001 Richard was seconded to Sheffield Health Authority as chief
executive and Trent regional office as project director for 'shifting
the balance of power' in South Yorkshire. In April 2002, Richard
became the chief executive of West Yorkshire Strategic Health
Authority. He became chair of the North East Cluster of the National
Programme for IT in 2003.
GNNREF: 114964
Issued by : DOH Press Office, UK