Prof Sir Mike RichardsRegulator

Chair, UK National Screening Committee

UK National Screening Committee is based in Cities of London and Westminster (London)

Cited in UK press coverage of health & social care

3 citations

Across 2 topics, first on 27 Aug 2026.

Biography

Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE MD FRCP is a medical oncologist who served as a consultant oncologist and Professor of Palliative Medicine at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals before becoming England's first National Cancer Director at the Department of Health in 1999, a post he held for 13 years. He then became the Care Quality Commission's first Chief Inspector of Hospitals in 2013, leading a new national inspection and rating regime for hospitals, mental health and community services. Since retiring from CQC in 2017, he led two major NHS England reviews—on adult screening services (2019) and diagnostic services (2020)—the latter recommending the network of community diagnostic centres now being established across England. In April 2022 he was appointed Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, the independent scientific committee that advises ministers and the NHS in all four UK countries on population and targeted screening programmes. He was appointed Chair of the Care Quality Commission in April 2025 but resigned from that role in February 2026. His work on cancer outcomes was recognised with a CBE in 2001 and a knighthood in 2010.

References

1.Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE MD FRCP – Care Quality Commission board biography — Current and past roles including NSC chair, CQC chief inspector, National Cancer Director, diagnostic reviews, and community diagnostic centres
2.Professor Sir Mike Richards announced as new UK National Screening Committee chair – UK NSC blog — Appointment as UK NSC chair in April 2022, expanded remit of the committee, CBE and knighthood
3.UK NSC blog – Professor Sir Mike Richards author page — Career summary including National Cancer Director, CQC Chief Inspector, NHS England diagnostic and screening reviews
4.CQC welcomes Secretary of State's decision to appoint Professor Sir Mike Richards as Chair — Appointment as CQC Chair from 1 April 2025 following Health and Social Care Select Committee confirmation

Expertise

Cited on

Stated areas of expertise

Cancer screening policy
NHS diagnostics capacity
Health service regulation
Population screening programmes
Early diagnosis and cancer outcomes
Community diagnostic centres

Notable achievements

Led the 2020 independent review of NHS diagnostic services ('Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal'), which recommended the creation of community diagnostic centres; around 170 have since been established. Source ↗
Appointed as England's first National Cancer Director in 1999 and led development of the NHS Cancer Plan (2000), the Cancer Reform Strategy (2007) and Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer (2011). Source ↗
Became the Care Quality Commission's first Chief Inspector of Hospitals in July 2013, developing a new approach to inspecting and rating hospitals, mental health, community and ambulance services. Source ↗
Appointed Chair of the UK National Screening Committee in April 2022, overseeing an expansion of its remit to include targeted and stratified screening in addition to population screening. Source ↗

What they’ve said

“I understand his concerns that his previous role at Leeds teaching hospital NHS trust may undermine trust and confidence in CQC's regulation. I am grateful to him for making this unselfish decision in recognition of the need for the regulator to be visibly held to the highest standards.”
Chair of the CQC · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Care Quality Commission chief quits over maternity inquiry into NHS trust he led ↗
“We absolutely recognise the strong support for prostate cancer screening among a large number of people, but also the very real harm that can be caused by the disease, which patients, and indeed their families, experience.”
Chair of the UK National Screening Committee · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Most UK men should not be offered prostate cancer screening, experts say ↗
“For every 1,000 men aged 50-60 screened with a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test, one life will be saved. But 12 men will be over-diagnosed and told they have a cancer that would in fact never threaten their lives.”
oncologist, NSC chair · Cancer · 27 Aug 2026 · The right’s culture war over prostate cancer screening is damaging trust in medicine | Polly Toynbee ↗

Source references

Care Quality Commission chief quits over maternity inquiry into NHS trust he ledtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Most UK men should not be offered prostate cancer screening, experts saytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
The right’s culture war over prostate cancer screening is damaging trust in medicine | Polly Toynbeetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

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

Named officials of regulators, arms-length bodies and public agencies such as the CQC, NHS England or a local authority association. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.