Ian Crichton has today joined Serco as Managing Director for its UK Health business. Serco provides essential services in support of the health sector and Ian’s experience of both the NHS and the private sector make him well placed to lead and grow this core capability for Serco.
Ian joins from NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) where he held the position of CEO, accountable to the NSS Board and the Scottish Government. At NSS, Ian led a team of 4,000 people providing specialist advice and strategic support services to the rest of NHS Scotland across a diverse range of areas including: blood donation and transfusion; health protection; commissioning; Information Technology; health analytics; legal advice; facilities management; and procurement.
Ian has also recently been interim Chief Executive for NHS 24, Scotland’s out-of-hours patient contact centre, and for many years has been heavily involved in a range of National Level governance bodies both in health and broader public service reform.
During his eight years at NSS, and despite austerity pressures, Ian turned performance around and delivered significant efficiencies. More recently, he led the growth of the organisation’s remit to take on support services to the whole of the Scottish public sector including the establishment of the Scottish Wide Area Network, a pan-public sector broadband network; analytics for the integration of health and social care; and pan-sector programme management on a variety of home care programmes.
Before joining NSS, Ian spent over 20 years in the private sector in a variety of senior management positons at international businesses such as Gillette and Suunto, working in over 44 countries.
At Serco, Ian will be responsible for over 4,000 staff working across the UK Health business and an annual turnover of in excess of £200m.
Read moreThe company has built a strong portfolio in health over the past two decades and has recently refocused the business to provide services that support the NHS to provide world class clinical health services such as facilities management, patient contact and wider patient administration services, including procurement, as well as pathology services through Viapath, its joint venture with Guy’s & St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospitals. Key UK contracts include: Forth Valley Royal Hospital; Wishaw General Hospital; East Kent hospitals; Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital; and Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
Commenting on his appointment, Ian Crichton said: “Serco provides an excellent range of joined-up services in support of the NHS and I am delighted to become part of the team. I fully understand the pressures facing healthcare providers to provide quality care in the face of increasing demand and constrained budgets. I believe there are many exciting opportunities for Serco to bring real innovation to the marketplace resulting in a better experience for patients and added value for the NHS. I very much look forward to working with colleagues to develop scale capabilities that make a difference and building on Serco’s existing strengths to help grow the business.”
Liz Benison, Chief Executive of the UK & Europe Local and Regional Government division, added: “I am delighted to welcome Ian to Serco. He not only brings with him the requisite experience and knowledge of the sector, but also the passion and strategic vision to help us to grow our health business.”
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