Beyond the Now

Welcome to Beyond the Now – a new podcast series from North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, hosted by chief executive Samantha Allen.

This series explores leadership, change, and the future of health and care through honest conversations with people leading at local, regional and national levels.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel to get notified about new episodes as they’re released.

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Episode 1: In conversation with Sir James Mackey

In the first episode, Samantha is joined by Sir James Mackey, transitional chief executive of NHS England. Together, they discuss:

  • Leading during system-wide transition
  • Staying grounded through change
  • Staff wellbeing and compassionate communication
  • Public accountability and transparency
  • The future of the NHS, including digital transformation and the 10-year plan

Learn more about Sam Allen, our chief executive

Chief Executive

Sam was appointed as chief executive in January 2022 ahead of the ICB becoming a statutory organisation in April 2022.

In addition to her NHS career, which spans more than 30 years, Sam is also the National Director for Management and Leadership at NHS England and Chair of the Health and Care Women Leaders Network for the NHS Confederation.

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Learn more about Sir James Mackey

Transitional CEO of NHS England

Sir James is currently seconded to NHS England as Transitional CEO.

He became chief executive of Newcastle Hospitals on 1 January 2024. 

He was previously chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and during this time held a two-year secondment in a national role as chief executive of NHS Improvement.  He was knighted in 2019 for services to healthcare and was at the forefront of the region’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw his trust set up its own factory to make personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Sir James is also chair of the NHS Customer Board for Procurement and Supply and was appointed by NHS England and NHS Improvement as senior responsible officer and national director of elective recovery for the elective recovery programme in 2021.  He was acting interim chief operating officer of NHS England for a period in 2023. 

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