https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/press-releases/chief-executive-retire-great-ormond-street-hospital/

Chief Executive to retire from Great Ormond Street Hospital

11 Nov 2013, 12:01 p.m.

Jan Filochowski

Jan Filochowski has announced that he is to retire from the post of Chief Executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust at the end of the year.  His decision comes after more than 38 years of dedicated service in the health sector. 

Mr Filochowski said: “I came to Great Ormond Street in 2012 and when I arrived I said I did not anticipate being chief executive for a lengthy period of time.  Since the summer, it has become clear to me that the Trust needs long-term leadership for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead and that needs to come from someone who is able to make a longer term commitment than I can. These challenges include our ambitious IT project, the next phase of the hospital’s redevelopment and the new Centre for Children’s Rare Disease Research.

“While I will be retiring from full-time NHS work I am exploring a number of other ways in which I might make a continuing contribution to the organisation which I have devoted my whole working life to. The success of my management book, published this summer, has shown me there are other opportunities awaiting me and I will now be able to take these up.

“I have greatly enjoyed my time at Great Ormond Street.  It is a truly remarkable place and I feel very privileged to have worked here.”

The Chief Executive leaves the hospital at a time when it has been given the lowest possible risk rating by the Care Quality Commission. The assessment, published last month, was based on data which includes patient survey results, mortality rates and the number of serious incidents.

Baroness Blackstone, Chair of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Jan leaves the Trust in good health - both clinically and financially. I am grateful for the positive contribution that Jan has made to the Trust and I wish him the very best for the future.”

Details of Mr Filochowski’s successor will follow after an appointment has been made.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Jenny Gimpel at the GOSH-ICH press office on + 44 (0)20 7239 3039 or jenny.gimpel@gosh.org.

For genuine and urgent out-of-hours queries call switchboard on 020 7405 9200.

Notes to Editors

1. Jan Filochowski was appointed as CEO of Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in August 2012. Previously, Mr Filochowski had held chief executive positions at five different NHS organisations, joining GOSH after spending five years at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He has 38 years healthcare experience, starting with ten years in the Department of Health followed by 28 years in the NHS. He spent a year as a visiting fellow at Harvard University in 1997/8 and a further year part-time as NHS University Fellow at the Judge Business School, Cambridge University in 2004/5.

2. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust is the country’s leading centre for treating sick children, with the widest range of specialists under one roof. With the UCL Institute of Child Health, we are the largest centre for paediatric research outside the US and play a key role in training children’s health specialists for the future.