The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has appointed Sue Douthwaite, a former banker, as its new chair.
Ms Douthwaite will chair the arm’s-length body on a three-year term from 1 April 2022, the DHSC said.
The chair is expected to work collaboratively with the DHSC to support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan and other priorities, and will also be expected to maintain relationships across the health and social care system to improve the services’ efficiency.
She has previously held a number of directorial roles at Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland Business and NatWest, and currently serves as non-executive director for British Business Investments.
The appointment will see Ms paid £63,000 a year, with a time commitment of two-to-three days per week.
The NHSBSA is the fourth arm’s-length body to appoint a chair or chief with a background in the finance sector.
In January, MPs approved Richard Meddings, former chair of TSB Bank, to chair NHS England, despite some reservations over his ‘lack of specific experience’ in the health and social care sector.
And last month, the Health and Social Care Committee named Ian Dilks, a former partner at PwC, as the new chair of the CQC.
The decision to appoint him criticised by some MPs who registered concerns about his lack of ‘knowledge of the social care sector, a vital element of the CQC’s work’.
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