04.06.14
Robert Francis appointed to CQC board
Robert Francis QC has joined the board of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), praising its “continuing development as a role model of transparency and openness”.
The three-year, £7,883 per annum appointment was made by health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
CQC chairman David Prior said: “The appointment of Robert Francis makes a very clear statement – the interests of patients, all those who receive care and their relatives will be at the heart of everything that CQC does.”
Francis’s two reports into the care failures at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust have had a huge impact on the NHS and on health policy.
Francis, a barrister practising in the field of medical law, is also honorary President of the Patients Association, a trustee of the Point of Care Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Research Centre, and a patron of the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
He said: “The CQC has a vital contribution to make towards people getting safe, compassionate and effective care. I am pleased to see that many of the recommendations I made in my reports on Mid Staffordshire for cultural change in the healthcare system and the CQC itself are being adopted.
“I hope to make a positive contribution to the work of CQC, supporting its current direction of travel and representing its work and its continuing development as a role model of transparency and openness.”
Francis is not the only new non-executive director – the CQC has also appointed Paul Rew, who will chair the CQC’s Audit and Corporate Governance Committee. He is currently non-executive director and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Met Office, and Northumbrian Water. He is a member of the advisory board of Exeter University Business School. Rew is a former partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers,
He said: “From my own professional experiences, I have seen how quality issues can be addressed through regulation and I will bring this insight to the role.
“As non-executive director, I hope to bring constructive and persistent challenge, support and ideas to the Board, during and beyond this significant period of transformation.”
Prior said: "Paul’s vast experience in accounts, risk management and finance will be invaluable to us. We need to demonstrate that we are delivering value for money and his role as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee will be critical to this."
The two appointments are to replace Steve Hitchins and John Harwood, who stood down from CQC’s board in December 2013 and March 2014 respectively.
The other board members are here.
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