Chief People Officer at London Ambulance Service takes on new challenge

After more than four years as Chief People Officer at London Ambulance Service, Damian McGuinness has been appointed as the new Chief People Officer at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Damian will join King’s – one of London’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals – in September 2025.

Damian said: “It was a very difficult decision to step down from my role as Chief People Officer at the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust – a role I have truly loved over the past four years. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve achieved together, and I leave with immense gratitude for the opportunity to help improve the culture and morale of this incredible organisation.

“I am particularly proud of our work to champion sexual safety at work – that’s our commitment to a meaningful reduction of harm caused by themes of misogyny, to removing barriers to speaking up, accessing support, and embedding a culture of respect, understanding and safety.“

Acting Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service, Rakesh Patel, said: “On behalf of all of us at London Ambulance Service, I would like to say a huge thank you to Damian. In his time at the Service, Damian has lead our People and Culture team and overseen some significant improvements in recruitment, turnover and the culture of our organisation. We have seen real change in the feedback our people provide about working here, including significant improvements in the national NHS Staff Survey. In recent years, the team have won a number of prestigious awards, including in 2024, when Damian was named ‘People Leader of the Year’ by the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) and the People & Culture team were honoured with the ‘People Team of the Year’.

Announcing the appointment, the Chief Executive of King’s Professor Clive Kay, said, “Damian has proved himself as a strong leader with extensive experience of delivering change within the NHS.”

The current Deputy Director of People and Culture at London Ambulance, Simon Steward, will act up into the role of Chief People Officer for six months until a substantive appointment is made.