Dr Sean O'Kelly has been appointed as the new Inspector of Hospitals at the Care Quality Commission, taking over from Ted Baker later in the Spring.

O’Kelly is currently Medical Director and Chief Clinical Information Officer for NHS England and Improvement East of England, where he has driven NHS efforts to support the roll out of Integrated Care Systems and promote quality improvement across the region.

Dr O'Kelly will replace Ted Baker who is due to retire at the end of March. The appointment was made following open competition. In the interim, Ian Trenholm will take day-to-day responsibility for the portfolio of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, supported by the Hospitals and Mental Health senior leadership team, and by Dr Rosie Benneyworth as the senior lead clinician on the Board.

Trenholm, chief executive of the CQC, said: "We're delighted that Sean will be joining us. Sean brings with him a wealth of professional and clinical leadership experience and a sound understanding of the healthcare landscape in which we regulate. I know he shares our commitment to ensuring people have access to safe, high-quality and compassionate care and that his successful career in the NHS will make an important contribution to our work as we implement our new regulatory model and deliver on our strategy."

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ted for his tremendous contribution to CQC over the last eight years to develop and strengthen the way CQC regulates hospital services and support improvements in patient care."

O'Kelly said: "I'm thrilled to be taking on the role of Chief Inspector of Hospitals and am looking forward to building on the great work that Ted has progressed helping providers to drive improvement and ensure that people receive consistently good, safe care. These are exceptionally challenging times and I'm committed to working with CQC colleagues, providers and other partners to support greater collaboration between services and across local systems as we strive to make our healthcare system as good as it can possibly be."