Ex-Deloitte Consulting man gets top NHS post
Richard Granger, the 37-year old head of Deloitte Consulting's government team, will start his new job as director general of NHS information technology at the end of this month.
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He will become Britain’s highest paid civil servant commanding a £250,000 salary.
Granger will be responsible for an ambitious programme of NHS IT developments worth £1bn a year for the next five years. They include electronic transfer of test results and information between health professionals, electronic booking and electronic transfer of prescriptions.
The long-awaited appointment of the NHS IT tsar, originally advertised in early June, has been touted as one of the most challenging jobs in IT. Last month Barry Latchford, the headhunter leading the search, admitted that only a handful of the 100 or so applicants were up to the task.
Announcing the appointment, Nigel Crisp, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and chief executive of the NHS, said: ‘Without a doubt, this is the IT challenge of the decade and I am confident that Richard’s skills and experience put him in a unique position to deliver it.’
Granger graduated from the University of Bristol in 1987. His career includes a stint at Accenture, and working on a number of large scale IT projects including ones with the Department for Education and Employment, and the Department of Social Security.
‘I am delighted to be appointed to this post. Leading the NHS Information and Technology Programme will be a privilege. Few technology modernisation programmes have such a significant impact; successful completion will lead to tangible benefits for every patient,’ Granger said.
Granger will be directly accountable to Professor Sir John Pattison, the Department of Health’s director of research, analysis and information, and will work closely with the Information Policy Unit, NHS Information Authority and NHS Purchasing and Supplies Authority.