Former ELHT chief executive Kevin McGee retires from NHS

Kevin McGee was chief executive at the ELHT from 2014 to 2021.

He is now retiring from the NHS to become a healthcare boss in Gibraltar.

In 2021 Mr McGee, 62, hung up his hat at ELHT, which manages the Royal Blackburn, Burnley General, Accrington Victoria and Pendle Community hospitals, to take on a new role as chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals (LTH).

The announcement of his departure, which is likely to be later this year, was made to staff at the hospitals on Wednesday (July 12), it is understood.

This means the trust is now searching for a new day-to-day leader as well as a chair of its board.  

Kevin McGee (Image: NQ)

The latter role has been vacant for a year and has remained without a permanent post-holder in spite of two recruitment rounds.

Mr McGee was already a senior figure in the NHS in Lancashire before arriving at LTH in September 2021, having led East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust from 2014 and then adding Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to his responsibilities in 2019.

He has faced operational and financial challenges throughout his career, including the backlog of procedures and appointments that built up during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He has also faced the impact of the nursing and junior doctor strikes that have faced the NHS in recent months.

He said in April that the winter from which the health service had just emerged had been the toughest he had known during his 25 years in the sector.

Mr McGee was also in the hot seat at LTH when the future of the Royal Preston was finally confirmed in May, with the announcement that funding had been secured to build a new hospital facility for the city, along with another for Lancaster.

In a statement announcing his retirement, he said: “Being part of the NHS family for all these years has been an absolute privilege and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked with so many talented people who have chosen to make patient care their life’s work.

“Lancashire Teaching Hospitals plays a pivotal role in the local health system and I am exceptionally pleased that funding has now been secured for new hospitals for Preston and Lancaster as part of the ‘new hospitals programme’.

“Reaching this important milestone is an ideal time to pass the baton on to someone who can commit the next five years or so to bringing these exciting plans to fruition.

“Healthcare is my passion, so I am delighted that I will be staying in this sector and taking up the role of Director General for Healthcare for the Gibraltar Health Authority.

“I would like to thank all staff at my own trust and within the surrounding system, as well as our partners and communities, for their unwavering support of both me personally and their local NHS,” he concluded.”

Chief Executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Martin Hodgson said: “I worked with Kevin throughout his time at ELHT and I appreciated and benefitted from his expertise, experience and knowledge.

"More recently, we have worked in neighbouring organisations as part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria healthcare system and he has continued to be a valued friend and colleague.

"I want to thank him for everything he has done for me personally, for his contribution to the NHS as a whole but especially for the improvements he encouraged for East Lancashire patients and their families.

"Kevin is a compassionate leader who has delivered a huge amount over a very long career in the NHS. I speak on behalf of everyone at ELHT when I wish him every happiness and success in an exciting next stage of his career.”

Having started in the NHS as director of finance at the West Lancashire Community Trust in 1998, Mr. McGee rose to become chief executive of the George Eliot Trust in Warwickshire in 2011.

In recent years, he has become a senior figure at a Lancashire and South Cumbria level in the NHS and is the chief executive of the region’s ‘provider collaborative’, which brings together trusts from across the patch.

His contribution to health services was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2021, when he was awarded an OBE.

Professor Paul O’Neill, acting chair at LTH, said: “Kevin has been a fabulous chief executive, providing wise counsel and strong leadership to the trust as we strive to reduce waiting lists and improve patient experience following the pandemic.

“His experience of system working has been of huge benefit and in addition to his important contribution to the New Hospitals Programme, during his time here he has attracted significant investment to our facilities including new theatres at both Preston and Chorley, the Nightingale Hub and improved surgical and medical assessment areas all of which have or will have a tangible effect on patient experience.

“I know I speak for the entire board when I say we wish to thank him for all that he has done for the NHS and wish him all the very best in the next stage of his life and career.”

David Flory, chair of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, added: “Having known and worked with Kevin for many years, I believe he ranks amongst the top chief executives in terms of his knowledge, vision and commitment to the communities he serves and is a very well respected leader within the NHS community.

“He has been instrumental in setting up the local Provider Collaborative and has laid down strong foundations for others to now build on.

"While he is a loss to the NHS, he will be leaving behind a strong legacy in Lancashire and South Cumbria, as well as many friends who will no doubt be keeping in touch in the years ahead.”