The chief information officer of the UK’s Department of Health is to step down after three years in the post.

Christine Connelly said in a statement that the Department is preparing for a ‘major’ reorganisation, and that she had decided not to pursue an executive role following the reshuffle. "I have had a fascinating and challenging time in this role and I have decided that this is the right time to step back and think about what I might do next," she said.

Connelly’s resignation comes one month after a National Audit Office report found that measures to rescue the NHS’ national IT programme that were introduced under her leadership were cutting more value than cost.
 
"The Department [of Health] has … significantly reduced the scope of the programme without a proportionate reduction in costs, and is in negotiations to reduce it further still," the report found. "So we are seeing a steady reduction in value delivered not matched by a reduction in costs."

Following the report, Connelly told that Public Accounts Committee that despite the fact that IT services provider CSC was behind schedule and over budget on delivering key components of NPfIT, it would now be too expensive to drop the contract.

Prior to joining the Department of Health, Connelly was CIO of Cadbury Schweppes.