NHS England strengthens clinical leadership

One of the country’s top urgent and emergency care consultants, Dr Clifford Mann, has been appointed by NHS England as Clinical Lead for the Accident & Emergency Improvement Plan.

Dr Mann - the outgoing President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine - will work closely with NHS England's National Urgent and Emergency Care Director, Pauline Philip, and Director for Acute Care, Prof Keith Willett, on the joint NHS England and NHS Improvement programme to redesign urgent care services and improve A&E performance.

The role of Clinical Lead - which is a three year appointment - will include chairing the programme’s Clinical Reference Group and supporting CCGs and trusts to implement changes to care pathways.

Dr Mann said: "This new opportunity to represent the collective views of frontline emergency medicine clinicians is both welcome and timely.  Current challenges require us to ensure our emergency care systems are sustainable as well as effective. The creation of this role recognises the importance of emergency medicine clinicians within the system and I am pleased to be their representative."

NHS England also announced the appointment of 41 leading clinicians to support and advise it on the direct commissioning of specialised services. These clinical experts and practitioners in their specialist fields have been appointed as chairs of NHS England's Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs). Their role is to help identify and develop new treatments, services and standards across specialised commissioning, and ensure best value is achieved within the resources available.

The specialised services commissioned by NHS England – which have a combined annual budget of around £15.7bn in 2016/17 - are grouped into six National Programmes of Care (NPoC), each of which is then supported by CRGs focussing on specific clinical specialties.

Published 16th August, 2016