Dean Sullivan has been appointed Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for the HSE.
Mr. Sullivan, who joins the HSE from the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Board where he was Director of Commissioning, with responsibility for the strategic planning of health and social care services for the population of Northern Ireland, will take up his post full time on August 1, next.
Dean Sullivan has 30 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. He trained as an accountant with the National Audit Office in London, previously worked as a senior civil servant for the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, overseeing the delivery of significant improvements in waiting times across a range of hospital and community services. Prior to this, he worked as a management consultant with Price Waterhouse and PA Consulting Group.
The HSE said that operating within this newly created role, Mr. Sullivan will lead on planning and reform processes across the health and social care system. “This will ensure a structured approach to change, with a particular focus on delivering integrated ways of working and promoting a learning culture which supports innovation.
“Mr. Sullivan will work closely with the recently appointed Chief Operations Officer Mr. John Connaghan and in collaboration with the wider HSE Leadership Team and other key stakeholders.”
HSE Director General, Tony O’Brien said: “The appointment of the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer is another significant step forward in the Programme for Health Service Improvement which is one of the priorities of Government. Dean brings to the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer role a wealth of experience in strategic planning and delivery in health and social care. He has worked at a senior level for a number of years in different roles taking forward reform in the Northern Ireland health and social care system. He has personally overseen a number of high profile regional service developments, including the introduction of the new radiotherapy service in Derry, serving the population in Northern Ireland and Donegal.”
The HSE said the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer would oversee HSE delivery of Health Sector Government policy and legislation. “Mr. Sullivan will be the HSE’s lead on research, integration and innovation. One of the key challenges will be to develop integrated, high quality services to respond more appropriately to the needs of a growing elderly population. This aims to support people to live more healthily and independently, with care being delivered closer to patients’ homes, avoiding the need for hospital admissions.”
“The creation of the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Officer post follows a decision to restructure senior posts in the HSE as part of the Programme for Health Service Improvement. The post has been approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Remuneration for the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer role is at National Director (Grade 1) level. Once the entire restructuring has been completed, the addition of the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer position will have a neutral impact on the number of National Director positions in the HSE.”
