28 November 2003
The chief executive of the new powerful health care regulator for England and Wales will be a civil servant with no previous experience of the NHS.
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, the chair of the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (Chai), announced this week that Anna Walker, director general for land use and rural affairs at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, would take the £150,000-a-year post early next year.
From April 2004, Chai will replace the Commission for Health Improvement (Chi), the National Care Standards Commission's inspection of private and voluntary care providers and the Audit Commission's NHS value-for-money work.
Peter Homa, the former Chi chief executive, was initially appointed Chai's chief executive but resigned following clashes with Professor Kennedy over the direction of the new body.
Under Homa, Chi won the respect of the health service by supporting organisations as they tackled weaknesses. Walker's appointment will be seen as confirmation that Chai's inspections will have a harder edge.
Walker is an experienced regulator and is responsible for Defra's current review of regulation.
However, her appointment may be a reflection of the emerging health care landscape, with publicly funded care being provided by quasi-autonomous NHS organisations with some commercial freedoms, alongside private and voluntary ventures.
PFnov2003
