NHS England and NHS Improvement have announced that Hugh McCaughey, Chief Executive of the South Eastern HSC Trust, is to lead on driving improvements in care and efficiency across the NHS.
Hugh will take on the new role as National Director of Improvement on April the first, helping to ensure NHS providers and local systems are equipped to deliver world-class universal healthcare on a sustainable basis.
He will oversee the delivery of high impact support to the NHS to help reduce unwarranted clinical variation, improve quality and access, and ensure the most effective and efficient use of resources.
Ian Dalton, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement said: “Hugh brings a huge amount of technical expertise in the application of improvement science in healthcare settings, and he also understands the challenges of leading change in complex and ever-changing environments. He will act as an effective national champion for improvement across the NHS.
Hugh, who lives in Hillsborough, Co Down, has been Chief Executive of South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust since 2009. He has made quality improvement a key strategy, integrating it into day to day working, resulting in significant improvements in the Trust’s performance. He was previously Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of the Belfast Trust.
Chairman of South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust Colm McKenna said: “Hugh McCaughey will be a huge loss to this Trust and indeed to the HSC system in Northern Ireland. He will be remembered for his leadership, vision, humanity and total commitment to safety and quality improvement.
“It is an honour for him that he has been appointed to this very prestigious post. However it is also an honour for this Trust that the work Hugh has inspired here is being seen as the road forward for the NHS as a whole. On behalf of everyone in the South Eastern Trust, I would like to congratulate Hugh and wish him well for the future.”
