Troubled watchdog the Care Quality Commission has announced that its new chief executive will be Sir Julian Hartley.
His appointment comes after a difficult summer for the regulator – which is responsible for overseeing services such as care homes, clinics, dentists, hospitals and home-care agencies – that saw it declared "unfit for purpose" by new health secretary Wes Streeting.
Hartley has been chief executive of membership organisation NHS Providers since February last year; prior to that, he led Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for a decade.
Ian Trenholm stood down as CQC chief executive at the end of June after six years in post. At the time, he said the organisation was in "the final stages of delivering an ambitious transformation programme" and that it felt like "a good time to move on".
Less than a month later, but on the other side of the general election, the interim findings of a review into the CQC identified failings that implied the regulator was unable to "consistently and effectively" judge the quality of health and care services.
The probe, led by Dr Penny Dash, chair of the North West London Integrated Care Board, also found evidence that around one in five organisations the CQC has the power to inspect had never received a rating from the watchdog in its 16-year history.
Dash's report also flagged a lack of clinical expertise among inspectors, consistent shortcomings with assessments and problems with the CQC’s IT system.
Streeting said he was "stunned" by the interim findings of Dash's investigation, which was begun in the spring under the Sunak government. "It’s clear to me the CQC is not fit for purpose," he said at the time.
The health secretary reacted positively to Hartley's appointment as the next permanent chief exec of the watchdog, which is an executive body sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
"Sir Julian's experience of turning round large, complex health organisations will be vital as the CQC seeks to urgently improve and win back public trust," he said.
"I'm confident that Julian will provide the leadership staff in the CQC need to address this crisis, improve patient safety, and restore confidence in the regulator."
Hartley's start date at the CQC is yet to be confirmed. Nevertheless, he said he was delighted to be joining the organisation.
"I have spent my career in the NHS," he said. "I will do my utmost to bring all I have learned to serve people who use services and to work with CQC staff and with providers to deliver high quality regulation which drives improvement across the health and care system."
Full report confirms "significant failings"
Yesterday, DHSC published the full findings of the Dash review. They confirmed "significant failings" in relation to operational effectiveness, poor performance with inspections, and a "lack of capacity and capability" to deliver improvements.
The report provides seven specific recommendations, including that the CQC formally pauses the implementation of its assessments of integrated care systems to focus on "getting the basics right".
Dash has been asked to conduct two further reviews, which will look at patient safety and quality.
The first will examine the role and remits of the CQC, Healthwatch England and the Local Healthwatch network, the Health Services Safety Investigation Body, the Patient Safety Commissioner and NHS Resolution. Dash has been asked to make recommendations on whether a different approach could improve patient safety.
The second review will focus on quality and governance. DHSC said the review would "guide the government’s next steps as it continues its drive for positive cultural change across health and social care".
Both reviews will feed into the government’s 10-year plan "to transform the NHS and social care and make them fit for the future".