# Mark Britnell

Mark Douglas Britnell (born 5 January 1966) is an expert on healthcare systems and has worked extensively with organizations around the world.
He is a professor at the Global Business School for Health at UCL and Adjunct Professor at the Sandra Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
He has also written two books, 'In Search of the Perfect Health System' (Palgrave Macmillan) and 'Human: solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare' (Oxford University Press).
In September 2024 he became Chair of Health Innovation Manchester.
He was a senior partner at the professional services firm KPMG and worked as a healthcare expert. He was the chairman and senior partner for healthcare, government and infrastructure at KPMG International until September 2020. He was then appointed as Vice-Chairman of KPMG UK with a focus on healthcare, a role he held until December 2022.
Prior to working for KPMG he worked in a number of roles for the NHS including as director-general at the Department of Health and a member of the management board of the National Health Service (NHS) in England (July 2007–September 2009), as well as chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and the South Central Strategic Health Authority.
In 2021 Britnell along with Tom Riordan was shortlisted for the role of NHS England Chief Executive, before the role being awarded to Amanda Pritchard.

## Education

Britnell grew up in Chester where he attended the local comprehensive. Having studied history at the University of Warwick, he joined the fast-track NHS Management Training Scheme in 1989, receiving his post-graduate education at Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick.

## Career

His early career included various management posts in the NHS, a spell with the Australian health service, a year in the civil service fast stream during which he was sponsored by the Australian College of Health Service Executives to work in Melbourne and Sydney before being seconded to the NHS Executive in 1992. Britnell joined St Mary's Hospital in London as a General Manager before being appointed as a Director at Central Middlesex Hospital (now part of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust) in 1995, when he was named Project Director for an Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic (ACAD) Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme - the first of its kind in the UK. He became chief executive at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. having been chief operating officer there, and led the organization from 1998 to 2006. It became an NHS Foundation Trust in the so-called 'first wave', and a PFI hospital rebuild, including a Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in partnership with the Ministry of Defence. In 2006 he was appointed as chief executive of the NHS South Central strategic health authority (covering the area from Oxford to the Isle of Wight). He was Director-General for Commissioning and System Management for the National Health Service (NHS) of England (July 2007-September 2009). During this time he oversaw the development of the World Class Commissioning policy, the creation of the Cooperation and Competition Panel and reforms to primary care, patient and public engagement, integrated care and community services.
In 2009, he joined KPMG as head of health for the UK and Europe, becoming global chairman for health in 2010 and global chairman and senior partner for healthcare, government and infrastructure in 2018. He reports that in these roles he has travelled to 80 countries He was a senior partner at the professional services firm KPMG and is a global healthcare expert. He finished these roles in September 2020. He was then appointed as Vice-Chairman of KPMG UK with a focus on healthcare, a role he held until December 2022.
In 2021 Britnell along with Tom Riordan was shortlisted for the role of NHS Chief Executive, before the role being awarded to Amanda Pritchard. Other candidates that were ruled out earlier in the process including Conservative peer Baroness Dido Harding and Sir James Mackey, chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust.
In 2023 Britnell became a Professor at the Global Business School for Health at UCL and an Adjunct Professor at the Sandra Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
In 2024 Britnell became Chair of Health Innovation Manchester.

## Books

In October 2015, Britnell wrote 'In Search of the Perfect Health System', an analysis of health systems around the world and seven key trends facing healthcare globally. Britnell provides 25 concise sketches about national healthcare systems, which form the core of the book
Models from countries like the UK, the US, Singapore, and others, are assessed offering a comparative analysis of what works and what doesn't in providing effective, sustainable, and equitable healthcare.
However, the book goes beyond just identifying problems—it also suggests solutions and offers insights into how healthcare systems can be improved. Britnell emphasizes the importance of learning from successful models while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. His goal is to provide policymakers, healthcare leaders, and readers with a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of healthcare systems and practical guidance on how to achieve better health outcomes for populations.
It won the health and social care category in the British Medical Association's Medical Book Awards 2016 and Best Health Book in China in 2017 from the Chinese Medical Doctors Association. The book is published in Mandarin, Portuguese and Korean, and sold in 109 countries.
In March 2019 he published 'Human: solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare'. It is a response to the warning from the World Health Organization that by 2030 there will be a global shortage of around 18 million healthcare workers – about a fifth of the required workforce. The forward to the book was written by Lord Nigel Crisp and he said "This is a timely and optimistic book which should be a guide to politicians and practitioners alike."
In the book Britnell focuses on the pressing challenges faced by the global healthcare workforce. Britnell examines the widespread shortages of healthcare professionals, the impact these shortages have on patient care, and the sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide. He argues that these workforce challenges are critical to the future of healthcare and presents potential solutions for addressing the crisis.
In Human, Britnell draws on his experience in economics, management, Human Resources (HR), organisational strategy, health systems science, public sector and corporate leadership to create a rich picture of health workforce challenges in context.
Britnell explores how countries and organizations can better manage, train, and support healthcare workers. The book also highlights innovative models and approaches to workforce development, including the use of technology, new ways of organizing care, and collaboration across borders. Ultimately, Human is a call to action for policymakers, healthcare leaders, and others to work together to ensure a capable and resilient healthcare workforce in the face of growing global demands.
Royalties of his books are said to go to the charity Prostate Cancer UK.

## Other activities

Via KPMG he was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of the Health Sector for four years. He is a Trustee of the King's Fund. He has honorary degrees from Birmingham City University and University of Wolverhampton, and an honorary professorship at Taishan Medical University School in China. He also sits on the advisory board of the China Center for Health Development at Peking University. He was a Trustee of the cancer charity Prostate Cancer UK, having been diagnosed and treated for the disease in 2008. He has often praised the NHS for saving his life.

## US Conference 2010

In 2010, while describing British health reforms to an audience of global healthcare executives in the US, Britnell said:
"In future, The NHS will be a state insurance provider not a state deliverer", and that "The NHS will be shown no mercy and the best time to take advantage of this will be in the next couple of years."
KPMG issued a press statement on behalf of Britnell on 16 May 2011 which refuted the accuracy of the quotations stating
"The article in The Observer attributes quotes to me that do not properly reflect discussions held at a private conference last October. Nor was I given the opportunity to respond ahead of publication. I worked in the NHS for twenty years and now work alongside it. I have always been a passionate advocate of the NHS and believe that it has a great future. Like many other countries throughout the world, the pressure facing healthcare funding and provision are enormous. If the NHS is to change and modernise the public, private and voluntary sectors will all need to play their part."
The Health Service Journal website published a longer statement from Britnell on 17 May. Commenting on the UK health service in an article for the Guardian Health Network, Britnell said "I'm proud to have worked for the NHS, with its great people, and now feel privileged to be able to work on health systems internationally."

## Publications

* In Search of the Perfect Health System, Palgrave 2015 ISBN 978-1-137-49661-4
* Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare, Oxford University Press 2019 ISBN 978-0-198-83652-0