Daniel Elkeles

Who Daniel Elkeles is

Daniel Elkeles is Chief Executive of NHS Providers, the membership body representing every NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance service trust in England, a role he took up in May 2025. He has been an NHS manager for over 30 years, working across acute, community, regional and commissioning roles. Before joining NHS Providers he served as Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service NHS Trust from August 2021, and prior to that spent nearly seven years as Chief Executive of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a Cambridge history graduate and has publicly argued for NHS productivity improvements, greater flexibility for local leaders to deliver neighbourhood health services, and better reward for lower-paid NHS staff. At NHS Providers he acts as the public voice of trust leaders and a key interlocutor between member organisations and central government.

References for this biography

1. 1.Daniel Elkeles to become NHS Providers chief executive – NHS Providers — Confirms appointment as Chief Executive of NHS Providers from May 2025, previous role as CEO of London Ambulance Service, and NHS Providers' membership remit
2. 2.Long-serving Chief Executive takes on new challenge – Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals — Confirms six and a half years as CEO of Epsom and St Helier, securing £500m Sutton hospital funding, CQC 'Good' rating, and staff survey improvements
3. 3.Daniel Elkeles – NHS Confederation — Confirms current role as CEO of NHS Providers and over 30 years as an NHS manager across acute, community, regional and commissioning roles
4. 4.Daniel Elkeles: 'There's a lot of green shoots here' – MIP Health — Confirms Cambridge history graduate background; records his public arguments on NHS productivity, neighbourhood health, low-paid staff reward, and member merger priorities
5. 5.Daniel Elkeles – A Kind Life podcast — Evidences LAS staff survey turnaround under his leadership, from second-lowest to second-highest in ambulance league table
6. 6.The Foundation Trust Network (NHS Providers) – Charity Commission contact information — Provides NHS Providers' registered office address (Floor 2, 18 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ) and general enquiries email
7. 7.Daniel Elkeles (@danielelkeles) – X — Confirms X account is self-identified as Chief Executive of NHS Providers, linking to nhsproviders.org

Notable achievements

• Appointed Chief Executive of NHS Providers in May 2025, succeeding an interim following the departure of Julian Hartley. Source ↗
• While CEO of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, led on plans and secured funding for a new £500m specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton. Source ↗
• Under his leadership Epsom and St Helier achieved a CQC rating of 'Good', with strong staff survey scores on equality, diversity and inclusion and health and wellbeing. Source ↗
• Led London Ambulance Service from the second-lowest ambulance trust in the 2022 NHS staff survey to the second-highest, with the most significant improvement LAS had ever recorded. Source ↗

What Daniel Elkeles has said

• “Nobody for one minute underestimates the scale of the problems posed by long delays, financial pressures and a relentless rise in demand for care. And it's clear that progress is uneven.”

  chief executive of NHS Providers · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Trust leaders point to ‘rock-bottom’ morale of NHS workforce ↗

• “It's great to see NHS trusts' innovation and hard work to see patients quickly, cut waiting lists and boost productivity making such a huge contribution to the economy and growth.”

  Chief Executive, NHS Providers · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · Waiting lists cut 3 times faster in highest joblessness areas ↗

• “All the signs are it's going to be very tough, as demand hits new heights.”

  chief executive of NHS Providers · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · Waiting list for planned hospital treatment rises for third month in a row ↗

• “Community services are pivotal to the success of the government's aim to shift more care from hospitals closer to where people are.”

  chief executive of NHS Providers · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Lack of investment in community services risks shift away from hospital ↗

• “District nurses play a vital role in bringing care to people's homes – helping them keep well, maintain their independence, and supporting recovery after illness”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Drop in district nursing workforce a ‘critically urgent issue’ ↗

• “It's very worrying to see the figures at a record high for the time of year – and still heading up. That's alongside all the other winter bugs piling the pressure on the NHS.”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · NHS faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu as RCN reiterates dangers of corridor care ↗

• “Corridor care is the least worst option for dealing with the huge pressure hospitals are under”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 8 Sept 2026 · Enhancing corridor care spaces the ‘best worse’ option, say nurses ↗

• “'There are far too many older people being admitted to hospital who could have better care in a place they'd prefer – at or close to home. This report should be a spur to tackle one of the greatest challenges facing the NHS – one that has too often been overlooked.'”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Elderly care & frailty · 8 Sept 2026 · Lack of GP targets resulting in too few frailty assessments ↗

• “Carefully designed, they can drive healthy competition between trusts – what Streeting on Tuesday called 'friendly rivalry' – and make trust bosses focus on what ministers say. But, at their worst they can result in 'naming and shaming'.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Can the old-but-new NHS league tables revive the health service? ↗

• “The way the NHS provides outpatients services hasn't changed much for decades but during Covid we learned a lot about opportunities for new approaches using digital technology. This is a bold, exciting initiative but the benefits should not come at the cost of destabilising vital services patients will continue to rely on.”

  chief executive of the hospitals group NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS ‘online hospital’ plan announced to help cut waiting lists in England ↗

• “Critical parts of the NHS are falling to bits, literally, after years of underinvestment nationally. The safety of patients and staff is at risk.”

  chief executive of hospitals body NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn amid surge in maternity payouts ↗

• “Another strike by resident doctors is the last thing the NHS needs, particularly as we head into what's going to be another challenging winter for the heath service.”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Resident doctors in England to go on strike for five days next month ↗

• “As the government prepares its budget, it's time for an honest assessment and discussion about what the NHS can really achieve this year in these challenging financial circumstances, and about what is 'doable' to meet ministers' ambitions in their 10-year plan for health.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS leaders warn of longer waiting times if demand for extra £3bn not met ↗

• “More strikes now could crush this fragile, hard-won progress, wiping out a once in a generation opportunity to fix the health service.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’ ↗

• “It's really worrying that so many highly skilled and highly valued international doctors the NHS just can't afford to lose are leaving in their droves. We wouldn't have an NHS if we hadn't for many years recruited talented and valued people from all around the world. The diversity of the NHS workforce is one of its biggest strengths.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers ↗

• “Once revered globally, the NHS has become a service more characterised by waiting than by healing. A model designed in 1945 is not fit for 2025.”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Hospitals must get smaller to stop NHS ‘permacrisis’, thinktank urges ↗

• “It is not yet clear how it will be paid for. There is absolutely no slack in current published NHS spending plans for this major commitment and that is a real worry from trust leaders.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to pay 25% more for innovative drugs after UK–US zero-tariff deal ↗

• “When you were talking about anything like Covid, I think we need to get back into the habit that if you are coughing and sneezing, but you're not unwell enough to not go to work, then you must wear a mask when you're in public spaces, including on public transport, to stop the chances of you giving your virus to somebody else.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · People urged to wear masks when they are ill as UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu ↗

• “When you were talking about anything like Covid, I think we need to get back into the habit that if you are coughing and sneezing, but you're not unwell enough not to go to work, then you must wear a mask when you're in public spaces, including on public transport, to stop the chances of you giving your virus to somebody else.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Should people wear a mask in public if they feel unwell with flu? ↗

• “This offer shows the government has been listening to genuine training concerns raised by the BMA and has come up with a constructive, sensible, and we hope, decisive solution.”

  chief executive of the hospitals group NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Wes Streeting improves offer to resident doctors in England in attempt to stop strikes ↗

• “The government have really listened … and I think what they've put on the table is a huge move. This has been a dispute that has gone on for a very long time. Someone had to do something pretty significant to find a resolution and I really hope this is it.”

  Chief executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Starmer says resident doctors would be irresponsible to strike in face of flu crisis ↗

• “anyone with flu or cold symptoms "must" wear a mask in public”

  NHS Providers, which represents health trusts · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘It’s hardly an inconvenience’: your views on wearing a mask to combat flu ↗

• “Patients choosing to attend A&E for help with relatively simple conditions like earache lays bare a failure to give people enough access to convenient, responsive services closer to home where they can get the help they need there and then.”

  Chief Executive of NHS Providers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccups ↗

• “The Age UK report was 'shocking' and underlined why urgent investment in buildings and equipment was needed to boost capacity.”

  NHS Providers · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each year ↗

Where Daniel Elkeles has been quoted

1. Health clinics on the high street can revive flagging town centres – NHS leadersthewestmorlandgazette.co.uk · 4 Oct 2026
2. Trust leaders point to ‘rock-bottom’ morale of NHS workforcethedoctor.bma.org.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Waiting lists cut 3 times faster in highest joblessness areasgov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. Waiting list for planned hospital treatment rises for third month in a roweadt.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. Lack of investment in community services risks shift away from hospitalnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
6. Drop in district nursing workforce a ‘critically urgent issue’nursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
7. NHS faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu as RCN reiterates dangers of corridor carenursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
8. Enhancing corridor care spaces the ‘best worse’ option, say nursesnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
9. Lack of GP targets resulting in too few frailty assessmentspulsetoday.co.uk · 8 Sept 2026
10. Can the old-but-new NHS league tables revive the health service?theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
11. NHS ‘online hospital’ plan announced to help cut waiting lists in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
12. NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn amid surge in maternity payoutstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
13. Resident doctors in England to go on strike for five days next monththeguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
14. NHS leaders warn of longer waiting times if demand for extra £3bn not mettheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
15. NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
16. Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numberstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
17. Hospitals must get smaller to stop NHS ‘permacrisis’, thinktank urgestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
18. NHS to pay 25% more for innovative drugs after UK–US zero-tariff dealtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
19. People urged to wear masks when they are ill as UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of flutheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
20. Should people wear a mask in public if they feel unwell with flu?theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
21. Wes Streeting improves offer to resident doctors in England in attempt to stop strikestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
22. Starmer says resident doctors would be irresponsible to strike in face of flu crisistheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
23. ‘It’s hardly an inconvenience’: your views on wearing a mask to combat flutheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
24. Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccupstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
25. Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each yeartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/danielelkelespublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/daniel-elkeles-a70152301
• Staff pagehttps://nhsproviders.org/news/daniel-elkeles-to-become-nhs-providers-chief-executive
• Press office emailenquiries@nhsproviders.orgpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.