A message from Mike Bell, Chair of NHS NCL and NWL Integrated Care Boards

Dear colleagues,

As previously announced, Frances O’Callaghan will step down as Chief Executive Officer of NCL and NWL ICBs at the end of this week to take up a new role as Chief Executive Officer at NHS Blood and Transplant.  

We are pleased to share that  Katie Fisher , currently Chief Executive Officer at SWL ICB, will be taking up this role as a nine-month secondment.  

She brings with her a wealth of experience which will help support and guide our organisations and our people during this important but challenging period.  

A nurse by background, Katie has more than two decades of senior leadership experience within the NHS, charitable organisations, and the private sector.  

Her previous roles include Chief Executive at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals and at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. 

The appointment of the permanent role of CEO for West and North London ICB will follow in due course. 

Chair of North Central London and North West London, ICBs, Mike Bell, said: “I am delighted that we will have the benefit of Katie’s experience and leadership to take us through this important phase for North Central and North West London, and the launch of the West and North London Integrated Care Board from April.”  

Katie said: “I’m really pleased to be joining North Central and North West London at such an important point. I look forward to taking forward the merger and establishing the new West and North London ICB as a robust, progressive and impactful organisation, which is really making a difference to the lives of people across West and North London.” 

Thank you to Frances for the significant contribution she has made to NCL and NWL ICBs over the past several years. The foundations she has put in place will ensure that we are well placed to make the transition to becoming a strategic commissioner.