BIOGRAPHY
Sir Ian Carruthers is Chief Executive of the South West Strategic Health Authority which was established in 2006 and has overseen the improvement in health and healthcare in the South West so that it is now amongst the best nationally.
During his 40 year career, Sir Ian has worked at all levels in the National Health Service (NHS). He has been Interim NHS Chief Executive and has held Chief Executive posts in Dorset and Somerset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, together with other senior roles in Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southend and Blackpool.
Sir Ian has made many national contributions to healthcare. These have included being a member of the NHS Management Board, and the NHS Modernization Board, which prepared the first ever NHS Plan. He has served on several national advisory groups overseeing the restructuring of management in the NHS and led national reviews on financial strategy, patient safety, service reconfiguration, innovation and improvement.
Recent contributions include jointly leading a review on age discrimination in health and social care in preparation for the Equality Bill, contributing to the publication of early warning systems which set out a modus operandi for the NHS, and a national review with the NHS Medical Director on quality in the NHS on behalf of the National Quality Board. Sir Ian has advised on the restructuring of the NHS in Wales and is a member of the Bevan Commission. He became Chair of the Health Honours Committee in 2009.
Born in Carlisle and educated at Carlisle Grammar School, Sir Ian is a graduate of the Open University, a Companion of the Institute of Healthcare Management, Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and has Honorary Degrees from Bournemouth University, the University of Exeter and the University of the West of England. Sir Ian was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to health in 1997 and knighted in 2003.