NHS England structure: current leadership chart

About the institution

The editable chart above is a selective map of NHS England's national leadership, reviewed on 9 October 2026 against NHS England's published leadership page. Sir James Mackey is chief executive. Elizabeth O'Mahony leads finance, Professor Francesca Swords is national medical director, and Duncan Burton is chief nursing officer for England. The diagram is deliberately smaller than the whole service and does not depict regional teams, integrated care boards or trusts.

In March 2025 the government announced that NHS England's functions would be brought into the Department of Health and Social Care. That transition is still the context for reading the national structure. NHS England is a national body for England, while care is delivered by providers and local systems; the connecting lines in this chart group selected functions under the chief executive for readability and should not be read as confirmed direct reporting relationships.

The selected names were checked on NHS England's leadership page on 9 October 2026. The chart can be edited for comparison, but anyone using it for a current decision should recheck that primary source first.

NHS England organizational chart

NHS England's reporting structure as of 2026-10. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom — or open it in QueryChart and edit it as your own.

Published roles in a simplified national leadership map

NHS England publishes the current role holders on its leadership page. The chart selects finance, medicine, nursing, people, strategy, performance and system development. Its root is the chief executive, Sir James Mackey; the displayed edges are a visual grouping, not an official reporting diagram.

Dr Emma Rowland joined as Executive Director, Performance and Delivery in July 2026. Jan Thomas joined as Executive Director, System Development in July 2026. Danny Mortimer is Director General, People; Paul Dinkin is Director General, Strategy and Healthcare Policy. These role labels follow NHS England's leadership page, which is the authority for changes after this review date.

The organisation sits in an announced transition to the Department of Health and Social Care. The chart does not imply that national leaders directly manage every trust or integrated care board, or that the planned integration is complete.

The named roles are published; the lines connecting them are a simplified grouping for reading, and may not match internal reporting arrangements.

Key leadership roles

1. Sir James Mackey

   Chief Executive Officer — Leads NHS England during the announced integration with the Department of Health and Social Care.

2. Dr Emma Rowland

   Executive Director, Performance and Delivery — Joined in July 2026.

3. Elizabeth O'Mahony

   Director General, Finance — NHS England says she became chief financial officer in April 2025 and Director General, Finance in November 2025.

4. Professor Francesca Swords

   National Medical Director — Joined NHS England in June 2026.

5. Duncan Burton

   Chief Nursing Officer for England — Holds the national nursing role published by NHS England.

6. Danny Mortimer

   Director General, People — Joined in February 2026.

How this structure supports the mandate

A national leadership map helps distinguish NHS England's central functions from the regional teams and providers that deliver care. Use it to locate a function and then check the current NHS England page for the responsible person.

The transition makes review dates essential: role holders and remits can change before the legal and operational integration is complete. This chart gives a dated starting point for adaptation, not an official organisation chart.

The editable diagram lets readers compare the published national roles with their own delivery structure while keeping the limits of the reconstruction visible.

Advantages and disadvantages

A selective chart makes national functions easier to scan.

It omits regional teams, integrated care boards and providers.

A dated snapshot shows who held selected roles when reviewed.

The transition can change names, remits and reporting relationships later.

Published titles can be linked to an official leadership page.

The source does not provide every direct reporting line shown by this simplified tree.

Interesting facts

• NHS England's current leadership page names Sir James Mackey as chief executive.
• Professor Francesca Swords joined as National Medical Director in June 2026.
• Dr Emma Rowland and Jan Thomas joined their listed executive director roles in July 2026.
• The announced integration with the Department of Health and Social Care concerns the national administrative layer.
• The diagram is a selective national chart; integrated care boards and provider trusts are outside its scope.

Frequently asked questions

Who leads NHS England?

NHS England's leadership page lists Sir James Mackey as Chief Executive Officer as of the 9 October 2026 review. Dr Penny Dash chairs its board; the chair and chief executive are different roles.

Is this NHS England's official organisation chart?

No. It is an editable, selective reconstruction of published national roles. The lines group functions for readability and do not assert that NHS England published those direct reporting relationships.

Does NHS England include every NHS trust?

No. This chart covers selected national leadership roles and omits regional teams, integrated care boards and providers. Consult NHS England's own leadership and system pages for the current structure.

Why is the chart dated?

NHS England is in an announced transition with the Department of Health and Social Care. The named roles were checked on 9 October 2026, and may change; the official leadership page is the current source.

Use this org chart template

Open this dated reconstruction as your own chart and update roles or relationships for your use case.

Edit the NHS England leadership chart