NHS Plus chairman John Harrison will this month take over from Kit Harling, following the latter’s retirement as director of the NHS occupational health network.
Harrison is a consultant in occupational medicine and clinical director of organisational health and wellbeing at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as being associate professor of clinical organisational development at Brunel University Business School.
He takes the helm at a challenging time for the organisation, which is in the process of undergoing a transformation and reconfiguration that is likely to lead to a reduction in posts and merging of some services and units as well as facing up to a much tougher NHS spending environment.
Harrison said: “A 21st century OH service must combine superb clinical expertise with business standards that match, if not exceed, those in the private sector.
“The current financial pressures and the recommendations made by Black and Boorman set out a clear mandate for change and we expect this change to be rapid and, on occasion, challenging.”
