Former Chair of NHS Digital appointed to Silverlink Software board

The former Chair of NHS Digital, Kingsley Manning has been appointed to the Silverlink Software board as non-executive director, the company responsible for one of UK’s leading Patient Administration System’s (PAS). 

Manning has worked with and for the NHS and the wider healthcare industry for more than 30 years.  He has particularly been involved in the digital agenda, having been chair of NHS Digital from 2013 to 2016 as well as executive chair of Tribal Health and is the founder and managing director of Newchurch Limited.

What attracted Manning to Silverlink Software was its “long track record of excellent customer service, delivering a very well-respected PAS system.”

“But what really interests me is their Capture products which I believe represent a major step forward in using digital technologies to support clinical interventions,” Manning said. “Not only does it present clinicians with all the information they need on the patient but also provides decision support along the patient pathway as well collecting a wealth of data to support performance improvement and regulatory compliance.”

In his new role as non-executive director Manning will be responsible for supporting the management team in developing their product strategy and to understand how the Capture product range can support the NHS’s digital strategy.

Manning was a major contributor to the NHS Digital Strategy ‘Personalised Health and Care 2020‘ published in 2014.

“Silverlink have a long experience of working with the NHS but it can be helpful to have a fresh input, particularly to encourage perhaps a more radical approach, to see the wider opportunities for digital systems to catalyse the reshaping of clinical services,” he said.

On discussing the outlook of the UK health IT market, Manning told Digital Health News that “in general the market remains pretty tough.”

He said with spending under-pressure and despite initiatives such as GDEs, much the offering from suppliers and indeed the focus of many customers, remains rooted in legacy technologies and approaches.

“Despite the rhetoric from ministers, there is little understanding of the potential impact of digital technologies and more importantly little appetite to support the organisational and workforce changes that the adoption of such technologies would inevitably bring about.”

“There are some exciting new developments, particularly where digital systems support and interact directly with clinicians and patients, but there remain entrenched barriers to the rapid adoption of these approaches across the health and care system as a whole.”

Manning commenced his new role on November 21.