A housing expert and former watchdog chief has been appointed to chair the special health authority that will run the NHS Direct national helpline.

David Edmonds, a former director-general of the telecomms watchdog Oftel and a former chief executive of the Housing Corporation, has been appointed as shadow chairman of the authority that will run NHS Direct from April.

NHS Direct, the 24-hour, nurse-led health advice service, will become a special health authority as part of a reorganisation that will see it provide a single point of access for out-of-hours care by the end of 2006. The helpline, which deals with half a million calls a month, is expected to expand its call taking capacity three-fold in the next three years.

Mr Edmonds will be employed by the Department of Health as shadow chairman until the new body starts work and will receive £21,000 a year.

While at Oftel, Mr Edmonds also chaired homelessness charity Crisis, but resigned in 2002 after six years over its decision not to merge with Shelter - a move he had advocated.

Mr Edmonds also has private sector experience. He has worked as managing director of group central services at NatWest bank and has been on the board of property multinational Hammerson plc since 2003.

He was appointed to the board of Ofcom in September 2002 and has also spent six years as a council member and treasurer of Keele University.

Health minister Rosie Winterton said she was delighted with Mr Edmonds' appointment by the NHS independent appointments commission. "He has a wealth of experience in the public and private sector and will bring valuable knowledge and skills to this important role," she said.

"We know through continual evaluation that NHS Direct has safely delivered healthcare advice and information to more than 20 million callers and on many occasions acted as a lifesaver. The service's excellent safety record has been highlighted many times through independent research, including evaluation by the National Audit Office."

Mr Edmonds said: "I am delighted to have been invited to lead the NHS Direct special health authority. NHS Direct is already a successful service with the ability to develop dramatically in providing high quality health advice, guidance and information.

"I look forward to helping build a new organisation to allow NHS Direct to reach its fullest potential, which is quite simply to be the best service of its kind in the world."