Amanda Pritchard announced as Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

It has been announced today (17 March) that Amanda Pritchard has been appointed as the next Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. This follows the announcement in January that current Chief Executive Professor Ian Abbs intends to stand down during 2025.

The appointment follows a competitive recruitment process and was approved – subject to final pre-appointment clearances – by a special meeting of the Council of Governors on Monday 17 March.

Amanda is currently Chief Executive of NHS England, a post she has held since August 2021 and she was previously Chief Operating Officer at NHS England. She was Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ from October 2015 to August 2019 and will return to an expanded Trust following a successful merger with Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in February 2021, which makes it among the largest NHS Trusts in the country. Delivering care from 5 hospitals, as well as in the community in Lambeth and Southwark, the Trust is one of the most significant providers of specialist care to patients from a wide geography.

Charles Alexander, Chairman of Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: "I am delighted that Amanda has accepted the position of Chief Executive. This follows a very thorough and competitive recruitment process, including consideration of a strong field of potential candidates.

"We were extremely impressed by Amanda’s enthusiasm, energy and commitment to the future success of Guy’s and St Thomas’. She will return to a very different organisation from the one that she left 6 years ago and clearly demonstrated her vision and support for our ambitious plans, combined with the need to lead transformational change at pace.

“We and our local healthcare and academic partners are fortunate that we will be able to benefit from the significant experience that Amanda has acquired during her time at NHS England as she returns to a role in frontline healthcare delivery.

“Her exceptional leadership skills will enable our more than 23,000 staff to respond to the challenges faced across the NHS and public sector as we seek to improve care for patients, reduce waiting times and ensure that our talented clinical teams remain at the forefront of healthcare research and innovation, driving new and better treatments and playing a key role in UK life sciences.”

Amanda Pritchard said: “It is an honour to be appointed to the role of Chief Executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ – the organisation is now very different to the one I left in 2019 and I am delighted and proud to return to lead it.

“From leading the NHS through the pandemic, steering the NHS through the difficult recovery period and laying the foundations for the future I am hugely proud of everything we have achieved nationally, and I am excited to apply what I have learned to help Guy’s and St Thomas’ and its partners capitalise on the many opportunities we have to make the NHS fit for the future. 

“Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of the country’s leading providers and I am very much looking forward to connecting with colleagues old and new as, together, we work to improve and transform the experiences of our staff and patients.” 

In her current role Amanda led the NHS response to the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, oversaw the roll out of the booster vaccine, and subsequently led the recovery from the inevitable impact of the pandemic. She developed the first NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and drove major improvements in the NHS digital infrastructure.

She originally joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ as Chief Operating Officer in April 2012.  Prior to this she held a number of senior positions at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and worked in the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit.