Amanda Kate Pritchard (born May 1976) is a British healthcare official and public policy analyst who has been the

Chief Executive of NHS England The chief executive of NHS England is the head of the National Health Service in England, and is a senior medical management adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom. The chief executive directs the governing body of the NHS, and is the hi ...

since 1 August 2021. Pritchard previously served as chief operating officer of

NHS England NHS England, officially the NHS Commissioning Board, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the ...

and as chief executive of

NHS Improvement NHS Improvement (NHSI) was a non-departmental body in England, responsible for overseeing the National Health Service's foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care. It supported providers to ...

from 2019 to 2021. She was formerly chief executive of

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Childr ...

from January 2016 to July 2019, having been acting chief executive from October 2015 to January 2016.

Early and personal life

Pritchard was born in Somerset, the daughter of John Pritchard, later a Church of England bishop. She grew up in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, attending

Durham Johnston Comprehensive School Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is a secondary school in Durham, England. Introduction Durham Johnston is a 1700-place 11–18 school serving Durham City and communities beyond to the south and west. It is situated on Crossgate Moor, on ...

. She graduated from St Anne's College at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a degree in modern history. Whilst a student, she served as the Librarian of

The Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

. Pritchard is married with three children.

Career

Pritchard joined the NHS Management Training Scheme in 1997 and has worked for the NHS for her entire career. In 2002, she became a manager at

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust operates Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital (since 1 September 2015). The Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2006. The Trust's chief executive is L ...

. From 2005 to 2006, Pritchard served as the health team leader of the

Prime Minister's Delivery Unit The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) was a center of government institution in the United Kingdom, providing support to the Prime Minister on public service delivery. It was created in June 2001 to monitor progress on and strengthen the Briti ...

under

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, before returning to

in 2006 as deputy chief executive, aged 29. Six years later she moved to

as chief operating officer and was appointed as its first-ever female chief executive in 2015. On 5 June 2019, Pritchard moved to

and

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

of NHS England and CEO of NHS Improvement. Effectively the deputy CEO of the NHS, she led it operationally through COVID-19, the vaccine rollout, and its recovery, including service transformation, digitisation, and patient care improvements. Long seen as the frontrunner to replace

Simon Stevens Simon Laurence Stevens, Baron Stevens of Birmingham, (born 4 August 1966) is a British public policy adviser, former CEO, and independent member of the UK House of Lords. He served as the eighth Chief Executive of the National Health Service ...

as CEO of the NHS, it was announced on 28 July 2021 that Pritchard would be appointed as the next chief executive of

; she took up the post on 1 August 2021 as the first woman in the role. On 3 August 2021 she was replaced as CEO of NHS Improvement by

Stephen Powis Sir Stephen Huw Powis is national medical director for England, in the National Health Service (NHS), appointed at the start of 2018 to succeed Sir Bruce Keogh. He is also a professor of renal medicine at University College London. Family an ...

on an interim basis. On 14 December 2021 she joined the Prime Minister and Health Secretary in calling for volunteers to come forward to help with the COVID vaccine booster campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, Amanda 1976 births Living people Administrators in the National Health Service British women chief executives Alumni of the University of Oxford National Health Service (England)