King's Fund chief quits after two-year financial squeeze

Jeremy Laurance
Saturday 03 May 2003 00:00 BST
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Rabbi Julia Neuberger, one of the most prominent figures in the health service, is to leave her post as chief executive of the King's Fund think-tank.

She expects to leave the fund in "early 2004," when she will take a sabbatical before deciding what to do with her career. In a letter circulated to staff this week, Rabbi Neuberger said she had spent "six happy years" at the fund. She also referred to the strain of dealing with the fund's finances.

The King's Fund was hit hard by the stock market crash in 2000 and a restructuring over the past two years has led to some staff losing their jobs.

The fund, founded and funded in 1897 by the Prince of Wales, Prince Edward, relies on investments to pay for its work and the grants it awards academics and medical staff.

Because of the stock market collapse, the fund's worth has declined from £185m to about £115m, while annual spending has fallen from about £12m in 2000 to £9m. To cover the shortfall, Rabbi Neuberger cut the number of staff by 30 to 120.

Yesterday Rabbi Neuberger said: "I have been here for six years and I don't think it's an idea to stay too long. I think it would be nice to have a short rest and I would like to write a book."

She said the stock market collapse had led to "massive changes" in the organisation. "But that's not the reason I'm going," she added. "I would not like to leave at the stage where we have to make cuts but when you have made cuts and stabilised it, then that it is the time," she told The Independent.

She will write a book on values in public life, to be called The Moral State We're In, and is likely to be in demand from a range of healthcare and other organisations. A spokeswoman for the fund said: "She is a considerable figure in health and she will probably have a portfolio career."

Rabbi Neuberger, 53, has been one of Britain's best-known liberal commentators. Educated at Cambridge, she became a rabbi in 1977 and has maintained a lifelong interest in medical ethics. She is a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and was Chancellor of the University of Ulster from 1994 to 2000.

She has written several books on Judaism, women, and on caring for dying people, including her latest book Dying Well, a Guide to Enabling a Good Death.

The King's Fund at first raised money for the voluntary hospitals of London but refocused its efforts on promoting good practice after the birth of the NHS in 1948. It became one of the most influential organisations in health.

When Rabbi Neuberger became chief executive in 1997 she renewed its focus on London, with work tackling health inequalities. She said one of her proudest achievements was continuing the fund's work on mental health. She said she was unsure whether she would seek another chief executive role or whether she would look for a number of part-time positions.

The King's Fund said it would start the search for her successor immediately.

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