NHSX chief replaces senior digital clinician at NHS Digital

Chief clinical information officer (CCIO) at NHSX, Simon Eccles, has stepped down from the NHS Digital board.

The board seat will be taken by Matthew Gould, chief executive at NHSX, the digital delivery unit for the health service.

NHS Digital confirmed Eccles’ board departure, but did not confirm whether there have been any additional changes to his role.

Eccles was appointed as CCIO for health and care in February 2018, a role focused on provision of clinical leadership on the digital transformation agenda.

Other recent changes related to the launch of NHSX include the departure of Matthew Swindells, operations director at NHS England, who handed over his IT duties to Gould last month.

Matthew Gould was appointed as NHSX head in April. A chief technology officer will also be recruited for NHSX, and a wider recruitment exercise will start in the summer.

In an inaugural blog post in his new role, posted on 3 June, Gould outlined his vision for the digital innovation unit.

According to the NHSX chief, the new approach will include limiting what the NHS builds itself while enabling a shift towards an ecosystem whereby the health service benefits from third-party innovations.