Movers and shakers news round-up: December 2017

This month’s Movers and Shakers round-up includes the formation of the first advisory board for HIMSS UK and appointments across NHS England, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society UK (HIMSS) formed its first ever advisory board in October to provide strategic oversight of the organisation’s work in the UK and Ireland.

The board will guide HIMSS UK in its engagement with both existing suppliers to the NHS and other “digital innovators” developing services for the healthcare industry.

The board will be chaired by Rachel Dunscombe, CIO of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and CEO of the NHS Digital Academy.

The members include: Richard Corbridge, Health Service Executive CIO in Ireland and future CIO of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Dr Victoria Betton, founder and managing director of mHabitat; Andy Kinnear, chair of BCS Health and Care and director of digital transformation at NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit; Dr Afzal Chaudhry, CCIO Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Anne Cooper, NHS Digital chief nurse.

Mark Davies, HIMSS UK chief medical officer, said: “This is an important step for HIMSS UK to ensure its discussions and events are relevant, challenging and inclusive. The experts that we have put together will provide the critical friend role that will help put HIMSS UK at the centre of the health information and technology debate.

“This is a great opportunity to shape the debate about digital priorities in healthcare. We will make the best use of digital capabilities available if we closely match them to the current health transformation plans.”

Ray James has been appointed as NHS England’s first National Learning Disability director.

James will be responsible for driving improvement across the country on services to people with learning disabilities, as well as their families and carers.

James is the former national president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the long-standing executive director of health, housing and adult social care for the London Borough of Enfield.

James has led on significant programmes of work nationally, and at Enfield he has led teams who have delivered services concerning the safeguarding, community involvement and independent living for disabled adults.

Commenting on his appointment in October, James said: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity to lead the NHS’s work with and for people with a learning disability and/or autism, their families and carers. I am particularly pleased to bring my background and values from a career in local government and social care to this role.

“There is much to do if we are to realise our ambition to support people to lead independent, inclusive lives in their communities, able to access high quality, care, support and/or treatment services when needed.”

Edward Osborne has been appointed the new director of retail for software as a service (SaaS) platform provider Virtualstock.

Prior to his appointment last month, Osborne was head of dropship operations for Tesco, and has also served as head of direct to customer operations for John Lewis. In his new role, Osborne will be responsible for leading the growth of Virtualstock in the global retail sector.

Andrew Mills, CEO of Virtualstock, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Edward to the Virtualstock Leadership Team.  He brings a depth of experience and is well-known in the industry as a leading expert in the field of direct to customer operations, which is increasingly seen as a strategic imperative as retailers address the challenges of digital transformation and the increasingly sophisticated expectations of the digital customer.

“This is a key appointment as Virtualstock enters its next stage of growth following the recent closing of a $6 million investment from Notion Capital, which is seen as one of the leading B2B SaaS Venture Capital investors in Europe.”

Sir John Burn has been appointed the new chairman of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Burn took over from Kingsley Smith on 1 December, who served as the Trust’s Chairman for more than 10 years.

According to the trust it was a “key leadership appointment.”

Sir John served as non-executive director with NHS England, as well as a senior investigator with the National Institute of Health Research, chair of the international Human Variome Project, and chair of Newcastle-based biotechnology company, QuantuMDx.

Commenting on his appointment, Sir John said: “The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a hugely successful organisation with thousands of highly skilled staff dedicated to providing the best possible care for the people of the North East and beyond.

“We face increasing pressure from both tightening financial resources and growing patient need but we will respond positively, as we always have. I am honoured to have been chosen to help lead the trust through the next phase of its evolution.”

Emma-Jane French has been made chief clinical officer (CCO) of Now Healthcare Group (NHG).

French will be responsible for leading NHG on commercial and strategic development. The company said it had seen “significant growth” following her appointment in November.

French has over 25 years’ experience in the healthcare industry and previously served as managing director of healthcare start-up My Clinical Coach. Prior to that, she was COO at Totally Health, a private healthcare business operating in the NHS.

Talking about her new role in November, French said: “It is such an exciting time for the digital health industry and NHG are at the forefront of an exciting evolution. Our work with the NHS means we are committed to easing the ever-increasing pressure faced by the service, and we are working collaboratively across organisations to deliver health care solutions for our growing population.”

Alison Robertson has been appointed as the new chief nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Robertson was formerly executive director of nursing for Al Wakra Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar, one of the leading hospital providers in the Middle East. She has held chief nurse posts at number of teaching hospitals and will be responsible for “delivering corporate direction to the quality, safety and experience agenda.”

Dr Peter Steer, chief executive at GOSH, said: “We have worked meticulously to find the best person to take on the vital role of chief nurse. Alison brings an excellent understanding of the importance and impact of nursing, balanced by grounded operational experience and a real sense of GOSH’s strategic position.

“Alison is a powerful advocate for children, children’s nursing and for allied health professions and we are very much looking forward to welcoming her to the GOSH executive management team,” Steer said.

Marc Newman has been welcomed into Insignia Medical Systems as its new application specialist.

Newman joins Insignia after spending five years working as a clinical business development manager for Healthcare Software Solutions Ltd. He has also worked as a diagnostic radiographer within the NHS.

Newman said: “Having worked closely with the Insignia team over the last 4 years as their RIS partner, I was aware of Insignia’s company ethos and knew the environment would be a good fit. I am very excited to be joining the company at the start of a new journey which has the potential to influence the future of radiology.”

Richard Dormer, managing director of Insignia, said the appointment of Newman as application specialist would allow the company to “explore more opportunities within the sector.”