Movers and Shakers news roundup

The September edition of Movers and Shakers features news from Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a number of appointments at Health Data Research UK.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has announced that David Dalton will join the trust as its interim CEO after Steve Warburton stood down.

Dalton’s previous experience includes being CEO at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. He is contracted to be interim CEO for the next six months.

Warburton will be joining the Integrated Care System, Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, on a secondment in a strategic leadership role.

The trust’s chair, Sue Musson, said: “On behalf of the trust board and the entire organisation I want to offer our sincere gratitude to Steve for all that he has done and all that he has achieved over the last 15 years with Aintree University Hospital and latterly with Liverpool University Hospitals and for the leadership he has provided as chief executive over the last six and a half years.

“Steve has been a valued colleague, and we have benefitted from his calm leadership, dedication and loyal service as chief executive over the last six and a half years and particularly throughout the pandemic which has been such a challenging time.”

Richard Beeken has been officially appointed as chief executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

Beeken has been supporting the trust on secondment from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust since February 2021.

Speaking about the appointment, trust chair, David Nicholson, said: “We have an exciting future ahead as we prepare for opening our new acute facility, the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, plus working with partners to improve care for our patients and population, and supporting our staff through recovery and restoration of services. I am looking forward to continuing to work with Richard to deliver our Trust’s vision for integrated care.”

Dr Chris Martin has been appointed the new chair of Life Sciences Hub Wales after serving as vice chair since 2017.

He succeeds Professor Sir Mansel Aylward who is stepping down from the role of chair but will continue as a non-executive director on the board.

Dr Martin, who has been interim chair for the last 18 months, is also deputy chair of the Bevan Commission, an internationally renowned Welsh health and care think tank.

The pharmacist by background and previously chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “It has been wonderful to see the growth and impact of Life Sciences Hub Wales over the last four years. I am proud of the organisation and the team behind it who are passionate to continue making a real difference to both the health and economy of Wales. I am also proud to be taking up this role and with the board, leading the organisation to have an even greater impact.

“I also want to acknowledge my colleague and friend, Professor Sir Mansel Aylward for his leadership of the organisation as chair – establishing it as key partner and resource for NHS Wales’ focus on innovation. I am delighted we will be retaining his energy and expertise as he remains with us on the board.”

Genomics England has announced the appointment of Professor Matt Brown as the organisation’s new chief scientific officer.

Currently the Professor of Medicine at Kings College London, Professor Brown is also the director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

He has a background in genomics and has previously been Director of Genomics and Distinguished Professor at the Queensland University of Technology. His work there also involved sensitive engagement with indigenous communities on healthcare research and genomics.

Professor Brown said: “I’m thrilled to be joining this iconic organisation and working with its outstanding staff to deliver on the amazing promise genomics has to improve diagnosis and management of a huge swathe of human diseases.”

He replaces Professor Sir Mark Caulfield and will take up the appointment in November.

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) has announced a flurry of appointments which includes Trudie Lang, professor of global health research at the University of Oxford and head of the Global Health Network, being named as its new global research director.

She will be responsible for leading a new programme, with the objective of improving health data science practices globally, using the learnings acquired from HDR UK and the International Covid-19 Data Alliance (ICODA).

Lang said: “Covid-19 has demonstrated the substantial health inequalities that continue to exist across the world. It has also demonstrated the incredible opportunity for health data science to contribute to addressing these inequalities. I am looking forward to working with the team at HDR UK and ICODA in this exciting new role.”

On top of Lang’s appointment, HDR UK has also welcomes Dr Glenn Wells and Edosa Odaro to its Board as non-executive Directors and Trustees. Glenn is director of strategy and planning at the Medical Research Council (MRC) while Edosa is head of data at AIG.

Dr Graham Spittle, chair of the Board at HDR UK, said: “I am delighted to welcome Glenn and Edosa as members of the Health Data Research UK Board. They each bring exceptional skills and knowledge to the board and will complement the existing expertise and experience around the board room table.

“They join at a perfect time with Health Data Research UK having recently become a charity and preparing for the next period of its development through the forthcoming Quinquennium Review.”

Paul Henderson has been appointed an executive partner at Channel 3 Consulting and has also joined the company’s board.

In his new role, Henderson will be responsible for continuing the development of Channel 3’s service portfolio and expand its market reach.

He joins Channel 3 from EMIS, where he led work across the UK and Ireland using technology to help improve health and wellbeing. Prior to EMIS, he led KPMG UK’s data analytics business in its infrastructure, government, and health division. In that role, he led analytics-enabled transformation programmes in care system redesign, place-based planning, new models of care, financial improvement, regulation and audit.

He said, “I’m very excited to be joining Channel 3 at a time when health and social care needs technology more than ever.  There is so much innovation that is still unexploited, and there are so many more benefits to be unlocked, whether that’s through existing digital investments or emerging solutions.”