Cancer Alliance appoints Simon Cox as managing director

Humber, Coast and Vale Cancer Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Cox as managing director.

Simon – the former Accountable Officer for NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG – will play a crucial role in bringing together all the different organisations that commission and provide cancer services to work collectively to improve cancer outcomes for the people living in Humber, Coast and Vale.

With more than 30 years’ NHS experience, Simon joins the Cancer Alliance from NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group where he has served as the Director of Acute Commissioning since January 2019.

Simon is no stranger to the transformation of services across the Humber, Coast and Vale health and care system, in September last year he was appointed as executive programme director of the East Coast Service Review.

He succeeds Yvonne Elliott, who has served as the Cancer Alliance’s managing director since March 2020. Yvonne has been appointed as director of the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership’s Community Health and Care Provider Collaborative, so will be remaining within the Humber, Coast and Vale health and care system.

Commenting on Simon’s appointment, Phil Mettam, the Cancer Alliance’s Senior Responsible Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased to appoint Simon as managing director of the Cancer Alliance. Given his wide range of experience in the NHS, which spans more than 30 years, I’m sure that Simon will be hugely successful in the role.

“He will play a pivotal role as the Cancer Alliance builds on its work to bring the organisations which provide or commission cancer services in Humber, Coast and Vale closer together to improve services and outcomes for patients.”

Simon Cox said: “I am delighted to be joining the Cancer Alliance. It is a real privilege to take this leadership role across the Humber, Coast and Vale cancer programme, working with our partner colleagues to further develop cancer services in our region to deliver better treatments and care for patients in the future.”

Paying tribute to Yvonne’s contribution to the Cancer Alliance, Phil said: “I want to take this opportunity to thank Yvonne for all her hard work over the last two years, a period during which cancer services and indeed all health and care services have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yvonne has helped the Alliance navigate multiple competing priorities, her professionalism and diligence has always shone through, and she moves across to the Collaborative with our full support.”