James Sanderson

James Sanderson is Director of Community Health Services and Personalised Care at NHS England where he leads on a range of programmes that are supporting people to have greater choice and control over their health and wellbeing. Programmes include: the delivery of the comprehensive model for personalised care; NHS @home; and the National Palliative and End of Life Care Programme.

James also leads on community health where the NHS’s ambition is to support more people to stay well and independent at home, wherever they call home, so that they can live their best lives.

The transformation of community health services through improving the digital and data infrastructure, and working with local systems to develop new models of care, is a key element of the NHS’s recovery. These programmes include the expansion and further roll out of virtual wards, urgent community response, anticipatory care, enhanced health in care homes and intermediate care.

From 2019-22 James was also CEO of the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), established by the SofS for Health and Social Care in 2019 to advance social prescribing across the arts, health, sports, leisure, and the natural environment, alongside other aspects of our lives.

 
James joined NHS England in November 2015 and was formerly the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for the Independent Living Fund (ILF). The ILF was an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions and supported disabled people across the whole of the UK to live independent lives through the provision of direct payments enabling the purchase of personal assistance support.

Prior to joining the ILF in 2002, James had a career in the motor industry within a number of sales and marketing roles, in both corporate and retail environments. James is also a performing arts graduate with a background in community theatre.