19.10.15
American health expert to support vanguard sites reform care models
Dr Donald Berwick, CEO of the US-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has been appointed by NHS England to support vanguard sites in developing the new models of care outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View.
He will participate in several national events at the King’s Fund designed to help the vanguard teams develop effective leadership for system-wide transformation and engage staff in these processes.
The work was commissioned by the new care models programme – a partnership of seven arms’s-length bodies including NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority.
Samantha Jones, director of the new care models programme, said: “The vanguards have asked us to support them in developing leadership capability and to help them learn from international experts.
“We’re delighted to have team up with the King’s Fund and Don to put this in place.”
Berwick will also be working widely with governmental and non-governmental organisations throughout England as part of efforts to support the improvement of care, outcomes and costs within the NHS.
And in an effort to further his collaboration with the Fund, he was also made an international visiting fellow, meaning he will contribute to the think tank’s broader work to improve health and care in the NHS.
Berwick carried out a review of patient safety in the NHS in 2013 on behalf of prime minister David Cameron. Although he is a paediatrician by background, Berwick was previously appointed by US president Barack Obama to administer the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, and has served on the faculties of the Harvard Medical School.
The King’s Fund’s chief executive, Chris Ham, said: “He brings with him unrivalled international experience and expertise in health and healthcare management.
“His work with the vanguard sites, and his interactions with other organisations in England, will benefit the wider health service as it grapples with how to develop new models of care built around the needs of patients.”
(Top images c. Michael Dwyer/PA Images)