Jim Mackey

Who Jim Mackey is

Sir Jim Mackey (full name Sir James Mackey) has been Chief Executive of NHS England since 1 April 2025, appointed to lead the organisation's transition into the Department of Health and Social Care, oversee a financial reset, and implement the NHS 10 Year Plan. He joined the NHS in 1990 and served as Chief Executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust from 2003 to 2023, including a 2015–2017 secondment as the first Chief Executive of NHS Improvement. From September 2021 to March 2025 he was NHS England's National Director of Elective Recovery, and from January 2024 to March 2025 he was concurrently Chief Executive of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to healthcare, and led his trust's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including establishing an in-house PPE manufacturing facility. In his current role he has publicly argued for a digital-first NHS, accelerated elective waiting-list reduction, and restoring financial balance across the system.

References for this biography

1. 1.NHS England – Our leadership team — Confirms current role as CEO of NHS England from 1 April 2025; career history including Elective Recovery directorship and Northumbria Healthcare CEO tenure
2. 2.Sir James Mackey – Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — Confirms appointment as NHS England Interim CEO on 1 April 2025, prior roles, knighthood, and PPE factory during Covid-19
3. 3.NHS chief executives become knight and dame in 2019 New Year's Honours – Healthcare Leader — Confirms knighthood in 2019 New Year Honours for services to health and to the North Tyneside and Northumberland community
4. 4.NHS England appoints Sir James Mackey as CEO – PMLiVE — Confirms appointment as NHS England CEO, prior CEO roles at Northumbria Healthcare and NHS Improvement, and National Director of Elective Recovery role
5. 5.NHS England – Building on our progress in the second half of 2025/26 — Confirms NHS England financial turnaround from £6bn deficit to balance, and priorities for elective recovery under Mackey's leadership
6. 6.We must drive the value out of digital investments – Global Government Forum — Evidences Mackey's public advocacy for digital-first NHS and productivity agenda
7. 7.NHS England – Our contact details and Data Protection Officer — Confirms NHS England head office address: Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG

Notable achievements

• Appointed inaugural Chief Executive of NHS Improvement on secondment in 2015, the NHS's financial regulator for providers. Source ↗
• Knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to health in England and to the North Tyneside and Northumberland community. Source ↗
• As National Director of Elective Recovery, oversaw near-elimination of two-year NHS waits, reducing them to approximately 300 from a waiting list of around 7.4 million. Source ↗
• Led NHS England in moving from a predicted £6 billion end-year deficit to a balanced system position by Month 5 of 2025/26, while continuing to improve waiting times. Source ↗
• Appointed by NHS England and NHS Improvement as Senior Responsible Officer and National Director of Elective Recovery for the Elective Programme in Autumn 2021. Source ↗

What Jim Mackey has said

• “The independent sector is playing a vital role in supporting our efforts to bring down waiting lists and ensure patients can get the NHS care they need faster.”

  NHS chief executive · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · One in 10 NHS appointments now carried out by private sector ↗

• “Patients will see 'really big change ahead from us in the next few months' in how urgent and emergency services operate, said Mackey. Using many more pre-booked appointments - so that patients no longer face long delays to access care - is 'a personal obsession of mine'.”

  NHS England's chief executive · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS bosses urge use of ‘digital triage’ to cut A&E waiting times | The Guardian - newspaper ↗

• “Today's achievement goes beyond a set of remarkable statistics – it shows that we're making real inroads on the things that matter to our patients and communities.”

  NHS England chief executive · NHS waiting lists · 30 Sept 2026 · 'We're right on track,' says Streeting as key target for hospital waiting times hit ↗

• “without some form of operational independence the NHS will "grind to a halt"”

  CEO of NHS England · Adult social care & reform · 29 Sept 2026 · Will Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham still abolish NHS England? ↗

• “admitted to MPs in July that he had 'raised challenges' about whether the claimed benefits of the Palantir platform were 'objective and can be fully stood up.'”

  chief executive of NHS England · NHS waiting lists · 29 Sept 2026 · Former Labour health minister calls for 'forensic' review of £330m NHS contract with American tech giant Palantir ↗

• “The Andy Burnham government must be careful not to assume recent improvements in NHS care are irreversible”

  NHS England CEO · NHS waiting lists · 29 Sept 2026 · Mackey: Government should not take NHS recovery for granted ↗

• “we never said there was a central pot of money ICBs could dip into.”

  Chief Executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Labour’s NHS job cuts plan in chaos amid row over £1bn costs ↗

• “Corridor care is one of the things that keeps me awake at night and one of the horrible, visible signs of drifting standards over recent years. It's completely unacceptable.”

  NHS England chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff bearing brunt as ‘ugly’ racism of 70s and 80s returns, says Streeting ↗

• “We have damaged our relationship with the population and it's their service. We only exist at their will.”

  Chief Executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · The right wants to destroy our fragile faith in the NHS – don’t let that happen | Polly Toynbee ↗

• “This is good news for NHS staff and patients, allowing our organisations to move forward and provide greater certainty about the future for all our staff and leaders.”

  NHS England's chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Reeves rejects plea for £1bn of extra cash to cover NHS redundancy payouts ↗

• “one of the toughest winters our staff have ever faced”

  CEO of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · This week’s doctors’ strike is another test of Wes Streeting’s mettle. He is right not to buckle | Polly Toynbee ↗

• “Let's do everything we can to avert industrial action during winter, when our patients really rely on us being there for them”

  NHS England boss · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Wes Streeting calls BMA ‘impossible’ and says they made ‘misleading’ claims ↗

• “By this time next week, the number of flu patients in NHS beds could rise as high as 8,000.”

  chief executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS braces for ‘unprecedented flu wave’ as hospitalised cases in England rise ↗

• “The strike as 'cruel', 'calculated' and designed to 'cause mayhem' given its timing.”

  Chief Executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu cases ↗

• “A warning from the NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, it could soon hit 8,000 [seriously ill hospital patients].”

  NHS England chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Officials fear NHS will be hit hard after resident doctors reject latest offer ↗

• “last year set out a 10-point plan for hospitals to improve resident doctors' working lives”

  NHS England's chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Wes Streeting to offer resident doctors bigger pay rise to end dispute ↗

• “we felt very, very, very close that we had a deal that could work for all parties. It's incredibly disappointing that it fell to bits at the last minute.”

  NHS England's chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS bosses say resident doctors’ strike will cause ‘maximum harm’ ↗

• “We are really worried about this. We've already had a couple of supply shocks in the last 12 to 18 months of key supplies.”

  NHS England chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Head of NHS England ‘really worried’ about medicine supplies ↗

• “he expected the health service to face "a long slog" of continuing strikes by resident doctors. Services would increasingly care for patients in ways that reduced the need for resident doctors because bosses could not rely on them being at work”

  chief executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Streeting hits out at BMA ‘delusion’ as talks to avert resident doctors’ strike fail ↗

• “In that context it's really disappointing that the BMA resident doctors committee has gone ahead with further industrial action. I know today has been tough for staff picking up the strain across the country – and how disruptive and challenging it's been for many hospitals to manage it and fill their rotas after the Easter weekend. We cannot forget this action has been deliberately timed to cause havoc.”

  chief executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Doctors’ strike timed to cause havoc over Easter break, says NHS England chief ↗

• “"very worried" about supply chain challenges, telling Health Service Journal that the NHS will need extra government funding if the war leads to a "huge shock" of price increases”

  chief executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · From syringes to stents: Iran war exposes NHS dependency on petrochemicals ↗

• “This is a huge moment for the NHS.”

  Chief Executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Waiting times for hospital treatment in England hit key target, figures show ↗

• “Patients would see 'really big change ahead from us in the next few months' in how urgent and emergency services were run”

  Chief executive of NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · A&E patients with non-urgent ailments may be told to come back later under NHS plans ↗

• “Almost everyone has a story in their family about how navigating the NHS has been like walking through treacle, including cases where patients aren't even sure if they've been referred, which is clearly unacceptable.”

  NHS England chief executive · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · People awaiting hospital treatment to get three weeks’ notice under NHS England plans ↗

Where Jim Mackey has been quoted

1. NHS waiting lists improving at Cambridge hospital as national target is hitcambridge-news.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
2. One in 10 NHS appointments now carried out by private sectortelegraph.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. NHS bosses urge use of ‘digital triage’ to cut A&E waiting times | The Guardian - newspapermagzter.com · 30 Sept 2026
4. 'We're right on track,' says Streeting as key target for hospital waiting times hitbbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
5. Will Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham still abolish NHS England?instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 29 Sept 2026
6. Former Labour health minister calls for 'forensic' review of £330m NHS contract with American tech giant Palantirlbc.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
7. Mackey: Government should not take NHS recovery for grantedhsj.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
8. Labour’s NHS job cuts plan in chaos amid row over £1bn coststheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
9. NHS staff bearing brunt as ‘ugly’ racism of 70s and 80s returns, says Streetingtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
10. The right wants to destroy our fragile faith in the NHS – don’t let that happen | Polly Toynbeetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
11. Reeves rejects plea for £1bn of extra cash to cover NHS redundancy payoutstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
12. This week’s doctors’ strike is another test of Wes Streeting’s mettle. He is right not to buckle | Polly Toynbeetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
13. Wes Streeting calls BMA ‘impossible’ and says they made ‘misleading’ claimstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
14. NHS braces for ‘unprecedented flu wave’ as hospitalised cases in England risetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
15. NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu casestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
16. Officials fear NHS will be hit hard after resident doctors reject latest offertheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
17. Wes Streeting to offer resident doctors bigger pay rise to end disputetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
18. NHS bosses say resident doctors’ strike will cause ‘maximum harm’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
19. Head of NHS England ‘really worried’ about medicine suppliestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
20. Streeting hits out at BMA ‘delusion’ as talks to avert resident doctors’ strike failtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
21. Doctors’ strike timed to cause havoc over Easter break, says NHS England chieftheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
22. From syringes to stents: Iran war exposes NHS dependency on petrochemicalstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
23. Waiting times for hospital treatment in England hit key target, figures showtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
24. A&E patients with non-urgent ailments may be told to come back later under NHS planstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
25. People awaiting hospital treatment to get three weeks’ notice under NHS England planstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

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

• Emergency doctor 'completely terrified' of looming winter pressures on NHSBBC
• Death tax, dementia tax, no tax at all: Why England hasn’t fixed social careTheLead.uk
• Maryland Reform Act Keeps 26 Offenses in Adult Court, Advocates ConcernedDavis Vanguard

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.england.nhs.uk/about/nhs-england-board/our-leadership-team/
• Websitehttps://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/letter-to-nhs-staff-from-jim-mackey/

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