Long-time public servant John Quinn is formally appointed after fulfilling duties on an interim basis

Picture credit: Crown Copyright/Open Government Licence v3.0

NHS England has named John Quinn as its new chief information officer.

After the conclusion of  “a rigorous recruitment process” the tech chief has been formally appointed as the permanent CIO, having held the role on an interim basis for the past four months. His duties will include “running and evolving the NHS’s critical technical infrastructure and managing cybersecurity for national services”, the health service indicated.

Quinn has spent most of his career in public service, most recently at NHS Digital, where he worked for a year as executive director of IT operations and enterprise services. He took on the duties of national CIO after NHS Digital was merged into NHS England in February.

Related content

• NHS Digital cites transformation ‘turning point’ after £750m investment in FY22
• NHS signs transition deal to move from Covid Data Store to new £360m platform
• Mental health: NHS looks to digital and data to close ‘historic treatment gap’

Prior to joining the NHS, Quinn spent eight years at regulator the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, including four years as chief information officer. Earlier in his career he worked for the Department for Education and the then Learning and Skills Council.

Dr Tim Ferris, national director of transformation at NHS England, said: “John has led significant digital transformations throughout his career, and so brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role of chief information officer. I’ve found John’s measured, insightful, and outcomes-oriented approach to problem solving invaluable since he joined NHS England. I know the whole team will continue to value his wise and caring leadership style, as we adopt the latest technology to transform the NHS and improve care for patients.”