Dean RoylesSector leader

Biography

Dean Royles joined NHS Employers as interim chief executive in February 2026, leading on workforce policy and practice, and serving as interim employer chair of the national Social Partnership Forum. He previously served as chief executive of NHS Employers until 2014, after which he became Executive Director of HR and OD at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, before working independently providing strategic HR advice and leadership development. Earlier positions include Director of Workforce and Education at NHS Northwest and Deputy Director of Workforce for the NHS in England at the Department of Health and Social Care. He is immediate past president of the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA), a former national chair of the CIPD board, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford for his contribution to health services management. He has been a prominent media voice on NHS pay negotiations, workforce reform, and the Agenda for Change pay structure.

References

1. 1.Dean Royles | NHS Employers — Current interim CEO role (from February 2026), career history, HPMA presidency, CIPD chairmanship and companionship, honorary doctorate, MSc in HR
2. 2.Dean Royles | Social Partnership Forum — Confirms interim employer chair of national SPF; confirms return to NHS Employers as interim CEO February 2026 and prior independent work
3. 3.BREAKING NEWS: NHS Employers appoints new chief executive | Healthcare Management — Confirms Dean Royles as interim CEO since January 2026, succession by Ben Morrin announced March 2026
4. 4.NHS Employers responds to the AfC pay structure reform negotiations | NHS Employers — Evidences press-quoted commentary on Agenda for Change pay negotiations (April 2026)
5. 5.London office | NHS Employers

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• NHS workforce policy
• NHS pay negotiations
• Agenda for Change pay structure
• HR and organisational development
• People leadership in the NHS
• Provider workforce sustainability

Notable achievements

• Named HR Magazine's Most Influential HR Practitioner three years running (2012, 2013, 2014) Source ↗
• Awarded Companionship of the CIPD in 2015 and served as former national chair of the CIPD board Source ↗
• Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford for his contribution to health services management Source ↗
• Co-authored a book on Human Resource Management with Oxford University Press, published February 2018 Source ↗
• Issued public statement on mandate for Agenda for Change pay structure reform negotiations in April 2026 Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “It remains an outrage that NHS [staff] should be subjected to violence and abuse because of who they are. NHS care providers were committed to tackling racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.”

  Interim Chief Executive of NHS Employers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warns ↗

• “After such a long-running dispute that has caused so much upset and disruption to patient care, all parties will be pleased that a resolution now seems to have been found and there will be no further strike action.”

  Interim chief executive of NHS Employers · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Resident doctors in England accept government offer on pay and jobs ↗

Source references

1. Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warnstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Resident doctors in England accept government offer on pay and jobstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.nhsemployers.org/people/dean-royles
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-royles-1576b236/
• Xhttps://x.com/nhs_dean
• Press office emailcommunications@nhsemployers.orgpublished here ↗
• Press office phone0207 799 6666published here ↗

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