Deputy chief executive at NHS Digital departs

The deputy chief executive at NHS Digital will step down from his role in December to pursue opportunities in foreign governments on national health and care infrastructure.

During his tenure at NHS Digital, Rob Shaw led projects such as moving Spine, the health service’s communications hub that connects key IT services, in house. The NHS claims the Spine migration to be the largest insourcing project it has ever completed, saving the taxpayer £100m since it transferred.

Awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services in health and social care in 2018, Shaw is also credited for having set up NHS Digital’s cyber security function, with responsibility for maintaining the security of NHS Digital’s infrastructure and for supporting the rest of the health service in independent decision-making around data security.

Commenting on her deputy’s departure, NHS Digital chief executive Sarah Wilkinson said Shaw was “hugely important to the functioning of the organisation for many years”.

“He has worked throughout NHS Digital in many roles and guises and his contribution has been simply phenomenal,” she added.