Interim Chief Commissioner Set to be Chief Executive at Swansea Bay UHB

29/08/2024

Interim Chief Commissioner Abigail Harris, will be leaving her interim post with the NWJCC at the end of October, having accepted the post of Chief Executive at Swansea Bay UHB.

Abi has been with the NWJCC since April 2024, overseeing its establishment and transition from three predecessor teams – the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee, the National Collaborative Commissioning Unit, and the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee – into one new Joint Commissioning Committee and team.

Abi said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Interim Chief Commissioner, albeit for a shorter period time than I would have liked, and I have been grateful for the incredibly warm welcome I received from colleagues, partners, and stakeholders since I arrived in April.

“I am pleased that we have made appointments to the Senior Leadership Team to put the leadership on a firm footing as we take through the predecessor teams into a full transition.

“I am especially grateful to Chair, Ian Green, who has been hugely supportive - both in terms of my time in the interim role, and in my application for the SBUHB position.

“Ian is a great Chair, and I have every confidence that he will secure a great Chief Commissioner when he recruits to the post substantively in the coming weeks and months.

Abi continued: “It has been special to have led the NWJCC at such a critical time and I have no doubt that the team here will continue to work together to ensure the success of the NWJCC for the people of Wales.

“Together we have made great progress in establishing the new Joint Commissioning Committee and that I am looking forward to being a member of the JCC going forward and am fully committed to continue to support its continued development as a centre of excellence for commissioning over the coming years as a member of the JCC. 

“I remain committed to NWJCC until I leave in October, and I will continue to contribute to the transition and motoring on with the busy programme of work.”

Chair at the NWJCC, Ian Green said: “We have benefitted tremendously in having Abi as interim Chief Commissioner, leading the establishment of the JCC.

“This announcement is great news for Abi as she takes on this significant leadership role within the NHS in Wales and we wish her well in her new role. We will be starting the process of appointing a permanent Chief Commissioner in the next few weeks."

Abi will take up her new position at Swansea Bay UHB in November and further updates about the confirmed recruitment of a new Chief Commissioner will be shared on the NWJCC website in due course.