Movers and shakers news round-up

This month’s round-up of industry appointments include movers and shakers at NHS Wales Informatics Service, System C, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire CCGs and Liva Healthcare.

Helen Thomas has taken on the role of interim director of the NHS Wales Informatics Service, leading up to the December departure of NWIS director Andrew Griffiths.

Previously the NWIS information services director, Helen is working collaboratively with Andrew Griffiths over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.  She will act as interim director, as NWIS transitions to a new Special Health Authority.

Prior to her appointment as NWIS director of information in 2017, she was the assistant director of Information at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABMU) Health Board, with responsibility for providing the information needed to evaluate service delivery and to support service improvement and transformation.

Cathy Harris has been appointed to the new role of head of solution assurance at System C. She joins the company from Google, where she was product lead for DeepMind Health and the Streams mobile clinical application.

Harris is a System C old-timer, having worked with the company from 2008 to 2016, latterly as director of product management.

Her new role at System C is a response to the company’s transformation from a ‘PAS Plus’ supplier to one which provides an integrated, end-to-end blueprint for full hospital and care community-wide digitisation.

Harris said: “System C’s EPR has increased considerably in scope and complexity over the last few years. I see my role as providing an interface between the product team on the one hand and our deployment experts on the other, helping them delivering complex end-to-end solutions to our customers.”

Lou Patten has announced that she will step down as chief executive of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire CCGs early next year.

Patten was appointed managing director of Buckingham Urgent Care in 2009 before going on to head up Aylesbury Vale and Chiltern CCGs, which became Buckinghamshire CCG in 2018 following a merger.

In a note to staff seen by HSJ, Patten said: “It is time to hand over the mantle to a fresh pair of capable hands. I aim to take a few months off to swim Alcatraz and other crazy things, then think about a future role in the NHS.

“I am particularly proud of the significant and measurable improvement we have made across the system (evidenced by the CQC review of progress 10 months later) in terms of developing our integrated approach, where there has been noticeable improvements for patients in reducing length of stay.

“We have also made clear decisions in setting a clear future for the Horton Hospital, as well as establishing a new approach to engagement through our Planning Framework that has been adopted by both Health and Wellbeing Boards in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.”

Mamuna Adam and Mark Vizard have joined Live Healthcare join as digital partnership directors. Adam has held senior implementation positions at NHS England, with Vizard previously leading partnerships with healthcare intelligence company, Intercept IP. The two will be tasked with furthering Livs’s integration with healthcare bodies, pushing new boundaries for partnerships.

Kristoffer From, CEO of Liva Healthcare, commented on the expansion of the team: “With these new additions to our team, we aim to widen our global presence by maintaining a world class technical programme.

“Our focus continues to be about delivering the best outcomes for patients in partnership with private insurance, pharma and public healthcare bodies.”

IMMJ Systems has welcomed Tim Gregory to its board as a non-executive director.

Gregory’s career has ranged from building start-up businesses to becoming the CEO for CGI’s UK operations.

His new role on the IMMJ board will involve supporting the company’s period of growth and expansion into new markets.