NHS England chief executive, Amanda Prichard, has resigned in a surprise move after recent meetings with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Sources say her departure is amicable, and she has not been forced to step down.
Her resignation will be officially confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
Amanda Pritchard said it had been a “hugely difficult decision for me to stand down”, and added: “It has been an enormous privilege to lead the NHS in England through what has undoubtedly been the most difficult period in its history.”
This comes as recent meetings were held between Prichard and Streeting to discuss plans to overhaul the service and her future role.
This was less than a month after two House of Commons committees criticised her ability to lead the NHS through a period Streeting and PM Sir Keir Starmer have said will be the biggest overhaul in the service’s history.
MPs on the public accounts committee said that she, deputy Julian Kelly, and two senior civil servants at the Department of Health and Social Care were “complacent” and lacked dynamism.
Only hours later, the health and social care committee publicly expressed their doubts shortly after she had given two hours of evidence to them.
More to follow…
