The Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (NCA) has appointed Dr Owen Williams OBE as its new Chief Executive. This follows on from the news in April that the current Chief Executive Raj Jain would retire from the NHS at the end of the summer.
NCA’s Chairman Professor Michael Luger shared that Dr Williams had been appointed to help lead the organisation in the next step of its journey in what he described as “a new era for the Northern Care Alliance and our NCA Family.”
Dr Williams has been the Chief Executive of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS FT (CHFT) since 2012. He has also been the Senior Responsible Officer for Capital and Estates in the West Yorkshire and Harrogate ICS since 2017.
Pictured: Dr Williams
Professor Luger said: “On behalf of our Board of Directors and Council of Governors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Owen Williams as our new Chief Executive. This follows a thorough national search and rigorous and inclusive process of recruitment and selection.
“This is an exciting time for Owen to join our organisation. He will bring his wealth of experience and strong leadership skills gained from the NHS, and his senior roles in local government, to lead and drive forward our plans and aspirations in the next exciting step on our NCA journey.
“As we head towards the completion of the Pennine Acute NHS Trusts Transaction, this is the start of a new era for the Northern Care Alliance and our NCA Family. I am in no doubt Owen will build on the foundations our group has made over the last five years and progress further to make us the employer, and provider of choice, support and meet the needs of our staff, patients and the communities we serve.”
Dr Williams was in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list, where he was awarded an OBE for his services to health care across West Yorkshire. He was also asked to lead a national piece of work across the NHS with regards to health inequalities.
His national roles include chair of the National Health Inequalities Expert Advisory Group, and advisory roles with NHSX in terms of its digital planning for the future, and the National GIRFT programme, which has had a focus on continuous improvement of care for patients.
Dr Williams was previously the vice chair of the NHS Confederation, and prior to joining the NHS worked across local government as Chief Executive at Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, and Rossendale District Borough Council.
Dr Williams, said: “I am both delighted and honoured to be taking up the Chief Executive role at NCA. Across each of the care organisations there is a track record of providing great care for the communities that we serve and, without a shadow of doubt, every one of our 20,000 colleagues have visibly stepped up to meet the challenges of the pandemic.
“The Board’s ongoing commitment to patient quality and safety, alongside their desire to provide the maximum support possible to colleagues providing care, is what attracted me to the role. This, together with collaborating further with our partners, presents a real opportunity for us to collectively move forward with confidence.”
Professor Luger has also thanked Raj Jain, for his service to the NHS, to Salford Royal, and the NCA Group, “On behalf of our Board and our NCA Family I would also like to again thank and wish Raj all the very best on his retirement. He has been instrumental in Salford Royal’s success and achievements and, over the past five years, has helped lead improvements across Pennine Acute Trust under the NCA Group.”
The NCA was created in 2016, bringing together over 20,000 staff and services from across Salford Royal and PAT, providing four hospitals and community healthcare services in: Salford, Oldham, Bury and Rochdale.
NCA’s targets focus on population health, social value, sustainability and regeneration, as one of the largest NHS organisations in the country.
