The man appointed to oversee the transformation of the island’s health service has quit after just over two months in the job.

John Spicer took up his £125,000 a year Cabinet Office role as health and care transformation director in early October.

With extensive experience in a variety of senior roles in health and care services in England, he joined at a pivotal time for the Manx NHS following Sir Jonathan Michael’s independent review of the island’s health and social care system.

His job was to lead the transformation in a ’broad and varied role with the opportunity to make a real impact,’ according to the description of the job when it was advertised.

But just before Christmas, Mr Spicer quit his two-year limited term appointment.

Health Minister David Ashford said: ’Unfortunately John’s personal circumstances changed and he had to return to the UK. It was sudden and just before the Christmas period.’

At the time of Mr Spicer’s appointment, chief secretary Will Greenhow described him as ’the right man for the job’.

The job commanded a salary of circa £125,000 and included a relocation package of up to £10,000 based on receipts.

Sir Jonathan Michael’s hard-hitting report, published earlier this year following his independent review, recommending wide-ranging reform of the island’s health and social care services.

He said his report should be seen as a ’catalyst for change’.

At the heart of the Michael report is a call for the creation of a new delivery organisation for health and social care services, separate from the body which sets policies and priorities.

The landmark report’s 26 recommendations were accepted in their entirety by government and approved by Tynwald at its May sitting.

Mr Spicer’s appointment was announced on the same day as that another health chief. Kathryn Magson replaces Angela Murray as interim chief executive officer at the Department of Health and Social Care.

She takes up her post next week.

Ms Magson, who has 12 years of experience in NHS senior management, is on a secondment from her current role as chief executive at NHS Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group.

But although her post here is a full-time one, she will continue to divide her time between the island and the UK.

Mr Ashford confirmed: ’She will be working full time as chief executive officer but will be based on-island for a minimum of three days a week with the rest of the week being done via remote working.’

Responding to questioning in Tynwald in October about Ms Magson’s proposed weekly commute, the Health Minister said: ’We are living in 2019, not 1919.

’People do work and can work remotely.

’If you have to have a chief executive physically here - physically present, sat in an office five days a week - then there is something fundamentally wrong if they have to micromanage to that extent the department.’

Angela Murray was appointed interim chief executive at the DHSC in May following the resignation, with immediate effect, of Dr Malcolm Couch.