NHSE director resigns, claiming politicians wanted ‘change at the top’

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national mental health director for the last nine years, has today resigned “with immediate effect”.

In her resignation letter to Sir Jim Mackey, seen by HSJ, Ms Murdoch said it had become “common knowledge that change at the top is wanted” and that she “could no long lead the sector when the political leadership don’t want to engage with me”.

Ms Murdoch wrote in her letter, which is attached to this article, that since it was ”apparently widely already known” that ministers wanted change that ”I cannot continue to do the job in the way it deserves to be done and it’s best you quickly find someone that you and the political leadership can have confidence in.”

Ms Murdoch’s letter also raises concerns about mental health spending and described maintaining its share of NHS funding as “critical”. She said it “…fell last year and will again this year. It likely will continue to do so over the next 3 years. I hope I am wrong.” HSJ reported earlier this year the proportion the NHS spends on mental health was this year cut for the first time in several years. 

Ms Murdoch said tackling inequalities and reducing the premature mortality of people with serious mental illness remains an area that we have sadly made “insufficient progress on”. More needs to be done she said, “much of which does not require additional investment …. but much of which, absolutely does”.

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Source: HSJ, 11 September 2025