NHS England cyber chief to step down from role

Mike Fell, director of national cyber operations at NHS England, has announced that he is stepping down from his role.

He will leave in mid-May to take up the post of chief security officer at the Department of Work and Pensions.

Fell joined NHSE in 2022 and led the transformation of the NHS Digital Data Security Centre into the NHSE Cyber Operations team, with the aim of strengthening cyber resilience across the NHS sector.

“The past four years have been intense, challenging, and rewarding in equal measure.

“I have had the privilege of working with thoughtful, capable people across multiple organisation and cultures, navigating complex technology and security landscapes together.

“NHS England Cyber remains an exemplar of effective organisational and sector-wide cyber defence, and I am grateful for the trust, collaboration, and shared problem-solving along the way.”

He added that he is “very much looking forward to now taking up a new challenge” at the DWP.

Commenting on the departure, Ming Tang, interim chief digital and information officer at NHSE, said: “Mike has been fundamental in developing cyber operations into the exemplary team it is today.

“His knowledge, experience and leadership skills are held in high regard, not only by his peers, but the wider NHS and care sector.

“During his tenure he’s brought together both the enhanced delivery of cyber security to the health and care sector, as well as the protection of NHS England’s central systems and data.”

Fell’s new role at DWP entails looking after 25 million customers, almost 900 physical locations and approximately 100,000 staff and contractors.

He will have overall responsibility for identifying DWP’s key security and data protection risks, as well as setting relevant policies and standards across the organisation to support delivery of pension and benefit systems and services.

NHSE said that leadership transition arrangements will be shared in due course.

Fell is the latest to announce his departure from NHSE, following Tang, who announced that she will leave in April, and Sonia Patel, chief technology officer at NHSE who will leave her role in March.

You can read our latest Insights Report on cyber resilience and recovery in the NHS here.