Ms Pritchard has been chief executive since August 2021 and Chief Operating Officer since 2019, leading the NHS through the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, under her leadership, the NHS responded to the Omicron wave of COVID-19, delivered tens of millions of booster vaccines, published the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with A&E waiting times, elective and cancer performance, acute sector productivity, and staff survey results all now improving.
‘It has been an enormous privilege to lead the NHS in England through what has undoubtedly been the most difficult period in its history,’ said Ms Pritchard.
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‘I am immensely proud of the NHS response to COVID-19, and how we have delivered steady recovery from the inevitable impacts of the pandemic – with performance in urgent and emergency care, elective and cancer all improving over the past two years, while NHS teams delivered record levels of activity in primary care, community and mental health services, meaning millions more appointments for patients.’
The first woman in the health service’s history to hold the post of chief executive, Ms Pritchard began her NHS career as a graduate management trainee in 1997 after studying at Oxford University and has held a variety of other NHS management positions.
Before joining NHS England in 2019, she served as Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, was previously Deputy Chief Executive at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and also served as a health team leader in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit.
‘I wish to offer my thanks to Amanda Pritchard for her dedication and hard-work in leading the NHS through an exceptionally challenging post-pandemic period. With demand rising faster than funding, the circumstances continue to be tough. I have valued her engagement with the College and profession, most recently on the deeply concerning issue of ‘corridor care’ in the NHS and how we tackle it together,’ said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger.
‘The RCN will work closely with the interim chief executive and the permanent postholder on this.’