Sir Andrew Valentine Morris Hon FRCP (born October 1955) is a former British hospital administrator who is currently a non-executive director 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 ...

Career

He was until February 2018 the Chief Executive of

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust created on 1 October 2014 by the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This was the first ever take ...

. His career within the English NHS spanned more than 40 years, joining as a hospital porter aged 19. Following stints in Leicester, Nottingham and Hereford, he was appointed unit general manager at

Frimley Park Hospital Frimley Park Hospital is a large general hospital in Frimley, Surrey. It is managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and houses a private wing. History Frimley Park Hospital was opened to provide a full range of acute services to patie ...

, Surrey in 1989. He became its first chief executive in 1991 and remained in post till his retirement in 2018, making him one of the longest-serving chief executives in the NHS. In 1996, he amalgamated the

Cambridge Military Hospital Cambridge Military Hospital was a hospital completed in 1879 in Aldershot Garrison, Hampshire, England which served the various British Army camps there. During World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviate ...

with Frimley Park, leading to the incorporation of a Ministry of Defence hospital unit (MDHU) within the Trust. In 2005, Frimley Park Hospital was awarded

foundation trust A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...

status and in 2014 it was the first NHS Trust to be awarded "outstanding" by the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...

in its new inspection regime. On 1 October 2014, Morris led the first NHS foundation trust takeover of another trust when Frimley Park Hospital took over Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals in Berkshire, forming Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. The Wexham Park site had been graded "inadequate" by the CQC prior to the acquisition. Within a year, Wexham Park had been regraded as "good", a transformation considered 'the most impressive example of improvement' by

Sir Mike Richards Professor Sir Michael Adrian Richards, CBE, MD, DSc (Hon), FRCP (born 14 July 1951) is a British oncologist. From 1999 to 2013 he was the National Cancer Director in the UK Government's Department of Health. He was appointed to be the Chief ...

, the then chief inspector of hospitals. In March 2016 he was appointed the leader of the Frimley Health

sustainability and transformation plan In England, a sustainability and transformation plan (STP) is a non-statutory requirement which promotes integrated provision of healthcare, including purchasing and commissioning, within each geographical area of the National Health Service. The ...

footprint, which covers the areas of Bracknell and Ascot CCG, North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG, Slough CCG, Surrey Heath CCG and Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead CCG. In 2016 the ''

Health Service Journal ''Health Service Journal'' (''HSJ'') is a news service that covers policy and management in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. History The '' Poor Law Officers' Journal'' was established in 1892. In 1930, it changed its name after ...

'' named him as the fourth most influential Chief Executive in the English National Health Service. In 2017, the same journal promoted him to the number one position, citing system leadership and mentoring other CEOs as important factors in deciding the rankings. In February 2018, he retired from Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust but continued as the lead for the Frimley Health and Care

integrated care system In England, an integrated care system (ICS) is a statutory partnership of organisations who plan, buy, and provide health and care services in their geographical area. The organisations involved include the NHS, local authorities, voluntary and cha ...

(ICS).

Post-retirement

On 20 July 2018, it was announced that Morris had been appointed as a non-executive director of NHS Improvement (NHSI), initially on a three-year term. Accordingly it was stated that he would be stepping down as the ICS lead in a managed transfer. He was succeeded by Fiona Edwards, CEO of

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust in England formed by the merger of Surrey and Hampshire Borders, Surrey Oaklands and North West Surrey Partnership NHS trusts in April 2005, with an emphasis on the m ...

. In December 2020, he was appointed vice-chair of the NHSI board. From June to August 2021, Sir Andrew was Interim Chair of

after Baroness Dido Harding temporarily stood aside. He was subsequently appointed vice-chair and was again made interim chair in October 2021. He is a deputy chair 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 ...

Honours and awards

Morris was appointed an officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee Honours and knighted in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, on both occasions for services to the NHS. Sir Andrew was awarded honorary Fellowship of the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in May 2016 for his contribution to healthcare administration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Andrew Valentine 1962 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Administrators in the National Health Service English healthcare chief executives Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire