Jill Watts is stepping down from her post as BMI Healthcare’s group chief executive.

Watts (pictured) will be returning to Australia at the end of the year “for family reasons” according to an official statement from BMI Healthcare.

She will remain in post until the end of the financial year (September) and “remain available to support and assist the business until the calendar year end”, the company said.

Karen Prins will be taking over from Watts at the beginning of October. Prins, a medical doctor with an MBA, has worked for Netcare, BMI’s parent company, for around 20 years in senior management roles.  

Watts said: “This has not been an easy decision to reach and it is with a real sense of regret that I have resigned from my position. Unfortunately, due to a serious family accident earlier this year and my mother’s deteriorating health, I have decided to return to Australia at the end of the year. It has been a real privilege to lead the team at BMI during what has been a very turbulent period in the UK healthcare environment and I wish BMI and Karen all the very best of success in the future. I originally came to the UK from Australia in early 2008 for what was meant to be a 3-year period and I will have been in the UK for close to 10 years on my return.”

Netcare chief executive Dr Richard Friedland commented: “We will obviously be sad to see Jill depart, but we both respect and understand her reasons for doing so and whilst we thank Jill for her significant contribution, we wish her well on her return to Australia.”  

Watts has been group chief executive at BMI Healthcare since 2014 and prior to that headed up the UK arm of Australian private hospital group Ramsay.