In the first major shake-up of his role since taking the helm, Harrison Internal Medicine has named its new CEO John Cappellari as its new chief operating officer.

Cappellarian will take up his role on November 16 and will report to Harrison CEO Michael Hartnell, who has been the company’s president since its founding in 2000.

Hartnell has been in the role since 2000, and is credited with creating the organisation’s global reputation as a leader in healthcare.

The move comes a week after Hartnell took over the role of CEO of the NHS in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, when 96 Liverpool fans died.

In a statement, Hartnell said he was delighted to be moving on to a new challenge.

“Harrison is the best-run hospital in the UK, and I look forward to working with the new team to bring more of our services to patients,” he said.

Harrison had been in administration since April.

Despite the upheaval, Hartsell said he is “delighted” to take up the new role and look forward “to making significant improvements to our care”.

He said the appointment of Cappella as chief executive had been a long-awaited one.

“The timing of the appointment, which was announced just a few days ago, is very welcome and the appointment is further proof that we are a leader of quality care, innovation and innovation across our organisation,” Hartsell added.

With a national workforce of more than 300,000, the HMP is the largest private NHS hospital in England, with more than 1,500 beds and is the third-largest NHS trust in the country.