Credit: Yui Mok/PA Archive/PA Images

The chief information officer of the Test and Trace scheme, Simon Bolton, has been appointed as interim chief executive of NHS Digital.

Bolton, who will formally assume the role on 4 June, replaces Sarah Wilkinson, who is stepping down after four years in charge. In the meantime, the two will “work closely [together]… to ensure continuity of leadership and delivery”, NHS Digital said.

The new head joins the health-service tech agency from the NHS Test and Trace scheme, where he has served as CIO since August 2020. Prior to that, he held senior technology posts at Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce and, at the start of his career, spent 15 years with IT vendor HP.

“It is a privilege to join this organisation at such an important stage,” Bolton said. “The appetite for digitisation within the NHS presents a huge opportunity for all of us working in the health tech sector and my ambition is for NHS Digital to be at the forefront, driving innovation and developing solutions and new capabilities. What NHS Digital has achieved during the pandemic has been remarkable and I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues to continue to deliver for patients and the front line.”

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Announcing her resignation last month, Wilkinson – who, prior to joining NHS Digital, spent 15 years in the financial services industry before serving as technology leader of the Home Office – also paid tribute to the work carried out during the coronavirus crisis.

“For many years now, we have made a substantial contribution to the health and care system,” she said. “In 2020, as we responded so brilliantly to the pandemic, it is a source of pride and deep satisfaction to me that we were able to contribute so positively to the work of the NHS at such an unprecedented and nationally critical time.”

Wilkinson added: “I believe there is a unique opportunity ahead for the digitisation of the system. As we emerge from the pandemic, the NHS has an appetite and a need for digitisation that is radically greater than it was in the period beforehand. As an organisation, NHS Digital is now confident and growing in its abilities, from designing and building new digital products and platforms, to managing clinical data at scale, to operating technology systems and services and defending against cyberattacks.”

NHS Digital plans to launch an open recruitment process to find Wilkinson’s permanent successor later this year.