Lee Rickles
CIO,
Humber Teaching NHS FT and Yorkshire & Humber Care
Diversity of leadership roles
Lee Rickles currently holds two significant positions as both CIO at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Programme Director for the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record (YHCR). He has also helped to support Humber, Coast and Vale Health Partnership in developing and delivering their digital strategy and was instrumental in ensuring the Digital Health and Wellbeing Charter for Yorkshire & Humber got over the line. So within his current roles Lee manages and work with numerous teams both within in his organisation but beyond and as a leader of significant projects of work. Although very busy and pulled in many directions Lee always makes himself available to his team members and helps to ensure the best result in complex programmes of work.
Budget responsibility
Lee takes responsibility of significant public sector budgets. He takes this role seriously ensuring he gets good value for money. Yorkshire and Humber region was awarded one of five exemplar positions on the NHS Local Health Care Record Exemplar (LHCRE) programme receiving up to £7.5 million over two years. Lee then led the programme to successfully mature into a programme that is funded and supported by the three Integrated Care Systems – Humber, Coast & Vale; South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw; and West Yorkshire & Harrogate health partnerships. Lee ensured we met all the funding milestones agreed with NHSx to budget and to deadline.
National/International representation
Lee represents the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record both on a national and international stage including recently speaking to interested parties in Australia. Up until recently he has also been a keen member of the Digital Health CIO Advisory Panel. Lee is also been a member of the Lorenzo Oversight Board since 2014 and is currently the chair of both the mental health and the interoperability expert reference groups. Lee is also the Digital SRO for the HCV ICS mental health programme and COVID vaccination programme. He has spoken and presented at HSJ, Rewired, HEE as well as many other national innovation or digital events or conferences.
Leadership, decision making and listening to experts
In his roles Lee delivers the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust Digital Plan – directing the delivery of Clinical Systems, Business Intelligence and Information Technology to support high quality care for our patients. Whilst progressing the complex development of the YHCR programme for the 5.5 million people who live in the region. Both leadership roles require informed decision making and Lee excels at listening to the experts in his team and ensuring he uses their knowledge, experience and advice to influence his decision. Investing in staff with the YHCR and Humber FT becoming a BCS organisation so the whole team can develop professional together.
Indepth knowledge in complex areas
Lee is not a “techie” however his understanding of complex technical issues is mind-blowing as well as a breadth of understanding of the areas that influence adoption of tech including stakeholder management, information governance, contract management, procurement, communications and public engagement.
Other material:
Lee Rickles has recently been accepted as a fellow of the BCS along with his fellowship of CHCIO. In typical Lee style, he not only progresses his own career but has taken his team with him, by ensuring Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust also become a member of BCS – bringing clear benefits to his team.
He bridges the gap between the digital work and the wider business of providing health care. This provides a clear recognition of Lee authority as a digital leader who also have a very clear and passionate understanding of the business. For example, the Yorkshire and Humber Care Record is a £20m plus digital project and has required Lee to use his influencing skills to secure the capital required and also arrange buy in to the project from Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer and Digital Leads across multiple integrated care systems.
Lee is one of a relatively small cohort of CIOs within the NHS whose opinion is sought to help shape national strategy and policy. He is very much viewed as an expert by his peers and those leading the digital healthcare agenda at national level. He supports a number of national bodies advising and shaping the development of digital health & care policy in England.
He has contributed to the development of the wider profession by championing the need for CIOs to get out from the ‘tech bubble’ and to actively drive the change agenda so desperately needed if the modernisation of the NHS is to be successful. Lee is popular amongst his peers because of his positive and determined views on the future and his thought leadership is respected and valued.
