Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Neil now resides in Longton, Preston, with his wife and two children. Neil’s career in the care sector began in 1982, when he took a part-time job as a hospital porter at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, whilst studying for his degree.


“As a porter, I did everything from sweeping the grounds to helping to support professional staff look after the patients. The three years I worked at the hospital were very formative. I learned a great deal about how the NHS operates at the frontline. It made me a strong supporter of the care sector. I was captivated by the concept of many people working together in a range of roles towards the same outcome – to provide care and support. It made me want to pursue a career where I could make a positive difference to people's lives.”


As soon as he graduated, Neil entered the NHS, taking a job in personnel at Wakefield Health Authority and then, through a localised graduate training scheme, Neil worked his way up through acute and mental health hospital services in Humberside and South Yorkshire. He then moved across the Pennines to East Lancashire to Burnley Health Care NHS Trust where he spent 10 years gaining operational and strategic planning experience, attaining the position of Director of Planning.


Neil moved to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in 2003 to become Director of Operations (Modernisation) before being promoted to Director


Whilst in Blackburn Neil was responsible for overall commissioning of services and development. This included the integration of NHS commissioning services with those of the Local Authority, resulting in an annual transfer of £85m of funds to what eventually became a Care Trust Plus.


Neil was appointed Managing Director of the Care Trust Plus in July 2010. Although Neil enjoyed the challenges of commissioning his passion remained with service provision. “Commissioning helped me consolidate and develop my skills and gave me an understanding of both health and social care commissioning imperatives, along with how innovative approaches from service providers can result in mutual benefit in terms of outcomes and proactive responses to underlying financial challenges. Commissioners are facing massive challenges and it is essential that providers work with them to deliver solutions that are mindful of costs, but importantly, progress meaningful choices and opportunities for service users.”


The care sector is united by a common purpose – positive outcomes for individuals - CIC is founded upon the principles of respect, dignity and choice for every individual service user - I would like to see the media showcase the good work of service providers like ours.


of Service Development. He joined the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust in 2005 as Director of Children's and Psychological Therapies Service before being appointed as the Trust’s Executive Director of Service Development in 2006. Neil also acted as the Trust’s Chief Executive for nine months prior to his appointment as Director of Commissioning for Blackburn with Darwen PCT in October 2007.


When Neil saw the advertisement for the post of CEO of Community Integrated Care he was excited by the opportunity. “Providing quality services is what drives me on. The more I found out


about what CIC does and aspires to do, the more I wanted to get involved. I could see that the skills I have gained and the path my career had taken are a very good fit with the organisation.”


Having been both a provider of services and a commissioner, Neil can indeed draw upon a wealth of knowledge and experience that will no


doubt benefit CIC. He has been at the forefront of the transformation of public services responding at a senior level to the Personalisation agenda that is revolutionising service provision for CIC’s service users.


I am looking forward to building on the foundations of our previous achievements and working together to shape CIC’s strategic direction and to develop opportunities to deploy innovative service solutions.


“The ambition for Personalisation is a good one. As service providers we should always be moving forward, trying to design and tailor services to individual need and promote independence and choice. As a concept, personalisation will be with us, in one way or another.


It is up to us


to make this a positive experience for every service user. “


“Although I hadn’t heard much about CIC, when I began to research the charity


I heard good things. No one I spoke to had anything negative to say. CIC has a good reputation for delivering care and support in local communities and it has an excellent value base. One that I share. I was put through a very rigorous recruitment process by CIC’s Trustees and was thrilled when they offered me the position of CEO.”


First Impressions “I have been at CIC for a few months and


my original expectations are being borne out. I have started to visit the services we provide and I have been impressed by the skills and commitment of the staff I have met so far, the skills of our senior team, and the experience of our Trustees. I am looking forward to building on the foundations of our previous achievements and working together to shape CIC’s strategic direction and to develop opportunities to deploy innovative service solutions.“


“I want to raise the profile of CIC to ensure that more people know about our charitable aims and know how they can access our great services. Also, developing better communication within CIC is an ambition, as is establishing better service user involvement.”


Neil pictured with the people we support at Glendale and Bankfield Road in Widnes.


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