National clinical directors appointed
pharmafile | January 26, 2010 | News story | | NHS, UK, appointment, dementia, elderly, liver disease
A trio of national clinical directors, whose areas of influence cover dementia, older people and liver disease, have been appointed by the Department of Health.
Alistair Burns, currently professor of old age psychiatry at the University of Manchester and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, will promote better care of people with dementia in the NHS.
His remit includes the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy – the Department of Health says one in three people over 65 will die with a form of the condition, which costs the economy £17 billion a year.
Burns’ work has included developing the South Manchester Memory Clinic and also helping establish a dementia drug treatment clinic.
“Alistair’s experience of dementia services gives him a unique understanding of what works for people with the condition and their carers,” said care services minister Phil Hope.
Burns will work closely with another new appointee, Professor David Oliver, who is charged with promoting better care of older people within the NHS and social care services.
A consultant physician and clinical director at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Oliver has already advised government on policy in this area.
“This is an exciting opportunity to ensure that the health, wellbeing and independence of older people is at the heart of our work,” he said.
His remit includes clinical leadership for the government’s ageing strategy, called ‘Building a Society for all Ages’.
The third appointment is Dr Martin Lombard, consultant hepatologist at Royal Liverpool University Hospital NHS Trust – where he will now work part-time – who has taken up the new role of national clinical director for liver disease.
It currently costs the NHS £460m a year to treat, and could overtake stroke and coronary heart disease as a cause of death within the next two decades.
Lombard will lead the development of a National Liver Strategy for England, which aims to tackle risk factors such as obesity.
The rise of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern among liver specialists, the government says.
“We know that by identifying people earlier, encouraging them to change their behaviour and making sure the right services are in place, we can improve the quality of care and prevent the rise in this disease,” said health minister Ann Keen said.
Liver disease tends to kill people far earlier (average age 59) than heart disease (82) and stroke (84).
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