Leadership vacancies in the NHS

A third of NHS trusts have at least one board-level position that is not permanently filled.

On average, nursing director posts remain vacant for 9.1 months – the longest time of any board position. This is longer than vacancies for finance directors (5.2 months) and operations directors (7.4 months).

Nursingdirectors

9.1months

Financedirectors

5.2months

Operationsdirectors

7.4months

Months post is vacant

0 1 2 3 4

CEO vacancies across all trusts CEO vacancies across trusts

in special measures

Trusts in special measures find it particularly difficult to recruit and retain senior executives. 17% of trusts in special measures do not have a permanent CEO, which is two and a half times higher than across all trusts.

There are issues finding suitable candidates for some roles. In almost 40% of recruitment rounds for medical director roles, there is only one candidate who is suitable for interview.

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APPLICATION

APPLICATION

Women workingin the NHS

Women in NHSboard positions

About 77% of the NHS workforce are women, but women are under-represented in senior roles. Women hold 40% of NHS board positions.

CEO10 YEARS

On average, NHS trust CEOs spend just over two and a half years in post. Our research suggests that long-term stable leadership is an important factor in creating cultures of good-quality care.

Organisationalstability

Improvementmethodology

Investmentin leadershipand quality

improvement

High–performing

organisation

Leadershipcontinuity

Clear goals and

measurement