• NHS Improvement and NHS England have appointed Prerana Issar to the role of chief people officer.
• The new position is part of the NHS Executive Group and will play a leading role in ensuring that NHS in England has enough people, with the right skills and experience to deliver the improvements for patients set out in the long term plan.
• As chief people officer, Prerana will take over from Julian Hartley and lead the development of the workforce implementation plan.
• To do this, she will work closely with organisations across the NHS, including NHS England regional teams, local systems, national bodies and trade unions.
  
  

Commenting as the chief people officer for the NHS starts their new role, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson said:

“The chief people officer will be an important role within the new leadership structure of the NHS.

The creation of this role is a welcome recognition of the challenge ahead of us to ensure we have the sustainable and skilled workforce to meet the needs of patients and deliver the ambitions of the NHS long term plan.

“The creation of this role is a welcome recognition of the challenge ahead of us to ensure we have the sustainable and skilled workforce to meet the needs of patients and deliver the ambitions of the NHS long term plan.

“We look forward to working with Prerana Issar to ensure that the voice of trusts are represented through the workforce implementation plan, and supporting her to deliver it.”