Professor Sir Keith Willett CBE

Prior to joining SCAS, Keith was the National Director for Emergency Planning and Incident Response at NHSE/I. He led on national service transformation across the NHS in England for twelve years including the EU exit preparation and the operational response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Keith is a highly experienced clinician, having worked in the NHS for over 40 years. As Professor of Trauma Surgery at the University of Oxford, he has extensive experience of trauma and emergency care, healthcare management and has been instrumental in driving service transformation and working collaboratively with partners in the NHS and beyond.

Keith has presented research, and taught surgery and health leadership extensively in the UK and internationally.  He was deployed as a civilian on missions to Afghanistan and Libya during their wars. He was awarded a CBE in 2016 and Knight Batchelor in 2021, both for services to the NHS. He was appointed Honorary Air Commodore to the RAuxAF 4626 aeromedical squadron (Brize Norton) in 2019.

In addition to chairing South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Keith also chairs the Council of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.

First joined SCAS: 2022