Ian Dalton, former chief executive of NHS Improvement, has been appointed as the executive chair of the Government Automation Taskforce.
The group has been set up to develop and accelerate the Government’s ability to harness automation technologies for public services.
It reflects the increasing emphasis on the technology in central government. Early last year the chief executive of the Civil Service John Manzoni said it would make more use of robotic process automation (RPA), and the Robotic Automation Unit in the Cabinet Office has reported increasing interest throughout Whitehall.
Announcing Dalton’s appointment, the Cabinet Office said he has held a number of senior roles including chief executive officer of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, president of Global Government & Health at BT Global Services, chief operating officer and deputy CEO at NHS England, and chief executive of NHS North of England, the North East Strategic Health Authority.
Dalton (pictured) said: “Adoption of new technologies helps to deliver services more effectively, including making cancer diagnosis more reliable or reducing fraud. This can have a huge impact on people’s lives - and I want to be at the forefront of this ground-breaking technology
John Manzoni, chief executive of the Civil Service and Cabinet Office permanent secretary, said: “Under Ian’s leadership, NHS Improvement has supported the NHS to improve their performance, improving its financial performance and ensuring the NHS is more integrated to enable more effective local services, setting up the NHS up for success in the future.
“Ian’s experience and skills will give an extra boost to this important piece of work, as we transform how we deliver public services.”
Dalton takes up the new role today.
Image from NHS Improvement, Open Government Licence v3.0
