Sir John has today reaffirmed that, with his 65th birthday looming, he will be retiring on 1 May at the end of “four very happy and fulfilling years in the NHS; the most challenging and rewarding of my 47 years in the public, university, and charitable sectors”.
Sir John said: “It has been a privilege to serve in the NHS and to see the enormous improvements we have made to healthcare services through the dedication and skills of our fantastic workforce. We have improved all the things which are important to patients: quality and safety, swift access to services, personalised care; and we have done this in a way which really represents value for money”.
He went on to say:
“I wish to pay tribute to Dame Barbara Hakin, my Chief Executive, who has provided inspirational and caring leadership across the region, and to her whole team; to my East Midlands Board colleagues for their fantastic support; to Gareth Hadley, our Regional Commissioner, for his unfailing assistance and wise counsel; to all 23 Chairmen in the Region’s Acute, Mental Health, Primary Care, and Ambulance Trusts who are doing a magnificent job; and to everyone at every level, who works in, or with, the NHS; “Team East Midlands” really works and the people living in the six counties we serve are greatly in its debt”.
Dame Barbara said: “Sir John has commanded huge respect within the NHS and with our stakeholders across the whole of the East Midlands. His open, supportive leadership style has really made a difference and he will be sorely missed.”
Sir John will be continuing his work with the Ministry of Justice as the “Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman”; his initial 2 day a week time commitment has recently increased to 3½.
16 February 2010
