Ian Carruthers

Sir Ian James Carruthers OBE is a British healthcare and academic administrator who was senior director for the National Health Service (NHS).

[2] He was a keen sportsman who won county caps for Cumbria in rugby union, cricket and soccer in his school days.

He was offered a playing contract by Carlisle United football club but turned it down at the insistence of his father.

[1] Carruthers held management positions in Barnsley, Blackpool, Southend, Portsmouth and Plymouth before chief executive roles in Dorset and Somerset plus Hampshire and Isle of Wight regional health authorities.

Carruthers and the South West SHA were criticised by an employment tribunal following the dismissal by Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust of its chief executive John Watkinson; however an independent review conducted by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, former president of The Law Society, concluded that there had been no impropriety.

The evidence provided to us shows that the SHA complied with its duty to assist and support RCHT in managing these difficult issues.