DoH confirms NHS IT head has left

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The head of the NHS IT programme has officially stepped down, after announcing he was leaving the role last year.

Initially, he was expected to leave the role in October.

Appointed to the position in 2002, Granger has managed the £12 billion national programme for IT (NpfIT). Among other projects, the often criticised NPfIT will eventually see computerised health care records rolled out across the UK.

The outspoken Granger - who once said "whingeing" was destroying the NPfIT - was the highest paid civil servant in the UK, pulling in £290,000 a year.

The Department of Health's (DoH) permanent secretary Hugh Taylor reportedly sent a message to staff confirming that Granger had left and praised the work he had completed. "Richard has done a great job in leading the National Programme for IT, which has connected every hospital and GP surgery to a common network," he wrote.

Granger's role will not be filled again, but replaced with two new positions. The DoH said it would be soon be recruiting for a chief information officer (CIO) to lead the overall information strategy for the health and social care systems as well as a director of programme and systems delivery, who would manage the delivery of IT programmes, including the NPfIT.

In the interim, Matthew Swindells will act as CIO, while Gordon Hextall will take on the director role.

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