IT movers and shakers

Christine Walters to join St Helens and Knowsley 

Christine Walters, director of IM&T at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, is set to join St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust on 21 September. 

She has been with The Pennine Acute Hospitals since 2009 leading a massive reconfiguration programme after the trust decided not to receive CSC’s Lorenzo electronic patient record under the National Programme for IT. The trust has since gone on to make several major IT implementations, including the use of Kainos Evolve and EDM Group to digitise about 450 million paper records.

St Helens and Knowsley is also one of three trusts signed up to the openMAXIMS community interest company (CIC) to guide the development of an open source electronic patient record system for the NHS.  

Neil Darvill to join North Bristol 

Neil Darvill, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals’ current director of informatics, has a new role lined up at North Bristol NHS Trust, which he will join in early 2016. 

He will replace interim head of IT, Ward Priestman, who will oversee the transition from the Cerner Millennium EPR to Lorenzo in October this year. Darvill’s previous roles include head of IM&T at Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and director of IM&T at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He has spent 11 years at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals.

Rachel Dunscombe to leave Bolton for Salford Royal

Rachel Dunscombe is leaving her role as chief information officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust to join Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. She will officially take up her new position on 2 November, 2015. 

Welcoming her arrival, Ian Moston, executive lead for informatics at Salford Royal, said: “Salford has a long history of being at the forefront of the informatics agenda and we are delighted that Rachel, with her strong track record of delivery and depth of experience, will be joining us as we continue with our ambitious plans.”

Dunscombe has been with Bolton since February 2013 and oversees a team of four chief clinical information officers that are helping to shape IT at the trust. Her career spans several areas of both the public and private sector, including spells at insurance giant Swiss Life, Liverpool City Council and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority. 

Andy Ennis, chief operating officer at Bolton, commented on the future of IT leadership at the trust: “Rachel has been recruited by Salford into their CIO role, however we are looking to develop a model of shared IT services in the North West sector of Greater Manchester with Salford and potentially Wigan too.” 

UCLH chief executive steps down after 15 years

Sir Robert Naylor, chief executive of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is to step down from his role on 31 March, 2016 to “develop new career opportunities” after 15 years in the position. Under Sir Robert’s leadership the trust worked with CGI to develop the e-CareLogic EPR and last year signed a commercial agreement to market the system to other trusts.