Prof Julian RedheadClinician

Biography

Professor Julian Redhead is a consultant in emergency medicine and was appointed National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at NHS England in September 2021, with responsibility for improving 999, 111, A&E and other urgent care services. He joined Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as a consultant in emergency medicine in 2004, became chief of service for emergency medicine in 2008, and served as its Medical Director before being appointed trust-level Chief Executive from 1 April 2026 on an interim basis. He has given oral evidence to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on pressures in urgent and emergency care, and has publicly argued that England runs its hospitals at dangerously high occupancy levels and has among the lowest number of beds in OECD comparator countries. He has also held the role of Medical Director for the North West London Integrated Care Partnership and serves as a Care Quality Commission specialist adviser.

References

1. 1.New NHS clinical leadership to support post-COVID challenges – NHS England — Confirms appointment as National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care and his concurrent role as Medical Director and emergency medicine consultant at Imperial College Healthcare
2. 2.Trust-level chief executive appointed for Imperial College Healthcare – Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust — Confirms appointment as trust-level Chief Executive from 1 April 2026, career history at the Trust, and ongoing NHS England national clinical director role
3. 3.Health and Social Care Committee Oral evidence: The situation in accident and emergency – UK Parliament — Confirms appearance as NHS England National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care giving evidence to Parliament on A&E pressures and bed capacity
4. 4.NHS England response to PAC report on access to urgent and emergency care – NHS England — Confirms his role title and documents his public statements on A&E pressures, social care impact and winter planning measures

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Urgent and emergency care
• A&E performance and waiting times
• NHS winter planning
• Hospital flow and discharge
• Emergency medicine
• Integrated care

Notable achievements

• Appointed National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at NHS England in September 2021, taking responsibility for national improvement of 999, 111 and A&E services. Source ↗
• Appointed trust-level Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust from 1 April 2026, following a group-wide competitive process. Source ↗
• Gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on the situation in accident and emergency care. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The figures confirmed the NHS's 'deepest concerns' that the health service was bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter, with cases 'incredibly high for this time of year and there is no peak in sight yet'.”

  national director for urgent and emergency care · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS braces for ‘unprecedented flu wave’ as hospitalised cases in England rise ↗

• “Early and efficient planning is key to managing busy periods like winter, and new tech like the AI tool has the potential to make a real difference to the way we manage care for patients.”

  national clinical director for urgent and emergency care at NHS England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · AI being used to help cut A&E waiting times in England this winter ↗

Source references

1. NHS braces for ‘unprecedented flu wave’ as hospitalised cases in England risetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. AI being used to help cut A&E waiting times in England this wintertheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.imperial.nhs.uk/consultant-directory/julian-redhead

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