NHS IT head to quit

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The man in charge of delivering the National Health Service's (NHS) new IT programme - and the UK's highest-paid civil servant - has announced he will be stepping down later this year.

Richard Granger, chief executive of NHS Connecting for Health, the agency rolling out the controversial National Programme for IT (NPfIT), is expected to leave his £290,000 job by October.

Last week, Granger said "whingeing" was hurting the £12 billion project to introduce digitised records and other IT to the health service. The ten-year programme has been criticised for delays and rising costs.

"My decision should be seen in the context of the changing role of the centre of the NHS and the fact that when I took on this challenge I said I would give this job five years," he said in a statement. He was appointed to the position in October 2002.

Granger told the Financial Times that the decision was "a very personal one" and that he wants to spend more time with his three children.

Granger will return to work in 2008 in the private sector. A graduate of Bristol University, Granger was previously a partner at Deloitte Consulting and worked on implementing London's congestion charging scheme.

"I want to acknowledge the enduring professional support I have received from my team and colleagues throughout the NHS," he said.

The Department of Health has not yet announced who will takeover the position when Granger leaves.

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