Tony Crisp

Edmund Nigel Ramsay Crisp, Baron Crisp, born in 1952, is a member of the House of Lords, serving as a crossbench peer. He has a significant background in public service, having held senior positions within the National Health Service (NHS) and the Department of Health. His career included roles such as General Manager and Chief Executive in various NHS trusts before becoming the chief executive of the NHS and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in 2000. During his tenure, the NHS reportedly saw substantial improvements in patient care and service delivery.

Upon his retirement from the NHS in 2006, Crisp was awarded a life peerage. Since then, he has dedicated much of his work to global health and international development. He has published extensively on these topics, authored influential books, and co-chaired significant global health initiatives, including Nursing Now, aimed at elevating the status of nurses worldwide. He also co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health and holds affiliations with various health organizations and academic institutions.

Born on January 14, 1952, Edmund Nigel Ramsay Crisp received his education at Uppingham School. He subsequently pursued studies in philosophy at St John's College, Cambridge. Lord Crisp is married and has two children, residing in the countryside near Newbury. His personal interests include the countryside, gardening, and painting.

Crisp began his career in community work before joining the NHS in 1986. He held various management positions, including General Manager for Learning Disabilities in East Berkshire and Chief Executive of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals. In 1993, he moved to Oxford as Chief Executive of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. He later served as the South Thames Regional Director and London Regional Director for the NHS Executive. On November 1, 2000, Crisp was appointed chief executive of the NHS and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, a dual role uncommon among his predecessors and successor. He announced his retirement in March 2006, citing the NHS's financial challenges as a disappointment, and was subsequently awarded a life peerage.

Following his retirement from the NHS, Lord Crisp has been highly active in the field of global health and international development. He has authored several books and reports, including 'Global Health Partnerships' (2007) and 'Turning the world upside down - the search for global health' (2010), which explored mutual learning between countries on health matters. He co-chaired the Task Force on scaling up the education and training of health workers and founded The Zambia UK Health Workforce Alliance. In 2018, he co-founded Nursing Now, a global campaign to enhance the profile and status of nurses, which concluded in 2021 and led to the Nursing Now Challenge. He also chaired Sightsavers International and holds advisory roles with several prominent health organizations and academic bodies.