Prof Meghana PanditRegulator

Biography

Professor Meghana Pandit is Chief Executive Officer of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), one of the largest acute teaching hospitals in England, with 14,000 staff delivering care across four sites and 45 community locations. From 1 April 2025 she was seconded to NHS England as Co-National Medical Director – Secondary Care, and between October 2025 and March 2026 served as NHS National Medical Director; from 1 April 2026 her national role became Deputy Chief Executive Officer to Sir Jim Mackey at NHS England (50% of her time), with a planned full-time return to OUH in October 2026. She trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Oxford Deanery, was a Visiting Lecturer in Urogynaecology at the University of Michigan, and held Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Executive roles at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire from 2012. In her national role she has been a prominent public voice on NHS elective care recovery, waiting-list reduction, and the reform of medical training. She is Honorary Professor at Warwick University and a Fellow of Exeter College, University of Oxford.

References

1. 1.Our leadership team – NHS England — Confirms she was National Medical Director at NHS England from 1 April 2025 to 31 May 2026; honorary professorships and fellowship; career history
2. 2.Board Directors – Oxford University Hospitals — Confirms secondment sequence (Co-NMD from April 2025, Deputy CEO from April 2026), planned return to OUH, clinical training background
3. 3.New Chief Executive and Chair for the Thames Valley Acute Provider Collaborative – Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust — Confirms appointment as APC Chief Executive; current split role as OUH CEO and NHSE Deputy CEO; period as National Medical Director
4. 4.Chief Executive Officer appointed – Oxford University Hospitals — Confirms permanent CEO appointment March 2023; first female and first person of colour CEO in Shelford Group
5. 5.Professor Meghana Pandit – GOV.UK

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Elective care recovery
• NHS secondary care transformation
• Medical workforce and training
• NHS leadership and governance
• Quality improvement
• Patient safety

Notable achievements

• Served as NHS National Medical Director (NHS England) from 1 April 2025 to 31 May 2026, providing national professional leadership across medical standards, safety, and policy. Source ↗
• Appointed first female CEO and first person of colour to lead any Shelford Group NHS trust, becoming permanent CEO of Oxford University Hospitals in March 2023. Source ↗
• Co-sponsored (with Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty) a four-nation initiative to reform medical training, announced April 2026. Source ↗
• Gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into reducing NHS waiting times for elective care as Co-Medical Director (Secondary Care), NHS England. Source ↗
• Appointed Chief Executive of the Thames Valley Acute Provider Collaborative (August 2026), a collaboration spanning Oxford University Hospitals, Royal Berkshire, Buckinghamshire Healthcare, and Frimley NHS Foundation Trusts. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “It was having "a transformative impact" on how hospitals worked with patients and their families when their condition was worsening.”

  NHS England's national medical director · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Martha’s rule now in operation at every acute hospital in England ↗

• “With record demand for A&E and ambulances and an impending resident doctors strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year – with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients.”

  NHS national medical director · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS ‘facing worst-case scenario’ as hospital flu cases jump 55% in a week ↗

• “The number of patients in hospital with flu is extremely high for this time of year. Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead.”

  NHS England's joint medical director · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu cases ↗

• “These strikes come at an immensely challenging time for the NHS, with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year”

Source references

1. Martha’s rule now in operation at every acute hospital in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. NHS ‘facing worst-case scenario’ as hospital flu cases jump 55% in a weektheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu casestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. Resident doctors in England begin five days of strike actiontheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
5. Stay at home if you have flu symptoms, experts urge amid fears of second surgetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.ouh.nhs.uk/about/trust-board/directors/
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/meghana-pandit-6248a7115/
• Xhttps://x.com/megh_panditpublished here ↗
• Websitehttps://www.gov.uk/government/people/meghana-pandit

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