New information authority seeks chief exec

The advert, placed in Sunday’s Observer, is asking for somebody with “credibility and gravitas”, “evidence of high intellectual ability” and a person who is “an entrepreneur… able to see and exploit new opportunities beyond the traditional confines of a Government Agency". No salary was posted.

The new Special Health Authority, based in Leeds, will “facilitate information flows across the whole system and improve the credibility of reported information”, and “reduce the burden of information requests on frontline services by rationalising and co-ordinating information collections and requirements".

The NHSIA was axed in July as part of the Department of Health’s arms-length body review. Its IT work was transferred to the National Programme for IT. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is to take over the information handling . According to a spokesperson for NPfIT, it is due to be established in April 2005, subject to Parliamentary approval, when the NHSIA expires.