Simon Stevens is to step down as chief executive of NHS England at the end of July, the health service said, while No 10 said he would be made a peer.
A statement said: “The Queen has been pleased to confer a peerage of the United Kingdom for life on Sir Simon Stevens, upon him stepping down as chief executive of NHS England.”
In a statement through NHS England, Stevens said: “Joining the health service in my early 20s was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, followed three decades later by the privilege of leading the NHS through some of the toughest challenges in its history.
“The people of this country have rightly recognised the extraordinary service of NHS staff through this terrible pandemic, as well as the success of our Covid vaccination deployment.
“As the pandemic recedes in this country, the NHS’s track record in advancing medical progress in a way that works for everyone rightly continues to inspire young people to join one of the greatest causes – health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations.”
More to follow …
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