Jonathan Kay voted in as Faculty of Clinical Informatics chair

Jonathan Kay has been voted as the new chair of the Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI).

Taking over from John Williams, Jonathan is the founding vice chair of the Faculty’s council, and chair of the board of trustees, roles which he will now vacate.

He previously spent most of his career as a chemical pathologist in Oxford. He has also been professor of health informatics at University College London and City University London and clinical informatics director at NHS England.

Jonathan said: “Thank you for electing me as chair of council and congratulations to all of the new members of council.

“I’ll do my best to follow the leadership of John Williams in developing the faculty to meet the needs of patients and professionals. This will only succeed if fellows, members and associates offer their help and support.”

Eighteen fellows were nominated for the eight seats available on council.  In the ballot, six new council members were elected and two council members re-elected. Current executive members will remain on council until 2021.

The Council members are:

• Jonathan Kay
• Mahmood Adil
• Anne Marie Cunningham
• Arjun Dhillon
• Alan Hassey
• Lydia Jidkov
• Maggie Lay
• Joe McDonald
• Dermot O’Riordan
• Dr John Williams
• Nick Booth
• Paul Campbell

Outgoing chair, John Williams, said: “I am delighted that Jonathan has been elected as my successor.  He has been very actively involved with our trustee board and of course, since the start, also the faculty exec so is very well informed about FCI matters.

“I wish him well in his new role and am sure that the faculty will be in safe hands. With his steer the faculty is set to continue to grow and to flourish as it enters an exciting phase where it will increase its involvement in educational events, professional development, projects and many other activities.”

In November 2019, the faculty held its first annual conference to celebrate the organisation’s achievements and hopes for the future.

Speakers included Ijeoma Azodo, who is part of the Shuri Network and professor Harold Thimbleby, See Change Fellow in Digital Health and a professor at Swansea University.