Heads of New PCT Cluster for Humber Announced

The Chief Executive Designate and Chair Designate of a new regional cluster of NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have been announced.

In July 2010, the Health White Paper, ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ outlined plans to transfer NHS commissioning responsibilities from PCTs to groups of general practitioners. Until the transition to GP consortia in 2013 is complete, PCTs have been directed to pool resources under new cluster working arrangements, to ensure capacity and capability are maintained.

The new Humber Cluster will incorporate the PCTs of Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, plus North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (CTP).

Each of the PCTs making up the cluster will continue as statutory organisations in their own right, however the establishment of the Humber Cluster will ensure that there is a joint approach to maintaining core statutory duties and delivering the Quality, Innovation, Prevention andProductivity (QIPP) programme. The cluster will also support local GP consortia across the Humber area and enable a smooth handover of PCT/CTP functions to new commissioning arrangements.

With immediate effect, the current Chief Executive of NHS Hull, Christopher Long, has been appointed as Chief Executive Designate of the cluster.

Christopher has been Chief Executive of NHS Hull (formerly Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust) since October 2006.  Prior to this he was Chief Executive of West Hull PCT.  Before coming to Hull in 2004, Christopher spent two years as the Chief Executive of Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT in North Yorkshire.

Before he joined the world of PCTs, Chris spent 10 years in a variety of jobs in hospital trusts and working at a senior level in the former Northern and Yorkshire Regional Office of the NHS Executive.  NHS management is his second career as he spent 12 years serving in the Army as an Infantry Officer before joining the NHS in 1991.

Speaking on his appointment, Christopher said:

“This is clearly a challenging time for us all, but we are fortunate to have four such strong Boards leading the NHS in the Humber area.  I shall look forward to working with them, our PCT/CTP staff, the wider NHS and all of our partners over the next two years.”

Karen Knapton, currently Chair of NHS East Riding of Yorkshire, has been chosen as the cluster’s Chair Designate. A nurse and health promotion specialist by training, Karen has more than 25 years’ experience of the NHS as well as working in the private and voluntary sector.  She has been Chairman of NHS East Riding of Yorkshire (formerly East Riding of Yorkshire PCT) since 2006.

Previously Karen chaired the former Yorkshire Wolds and Coast PCT and served as a Non-Executive Director at the former North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority and the East Riding and Hull Health Authority.

Karen champions rural health issues as a member of the national Primary Care Trust (PCT) Network Board and is involved in a range of community and charity projects.

Karen said:  “These are unprecedented times and I know the four organisations, working in partnership with the cluster, will continue to deliver good quality services for patients across the Humber whilst ensuring we support our GPs in establishing their commissioning consortia.”