​​​​​​​HIMSS UK announces first-ever Advisory Board

HIMSS UK today launched its first ever advisory board, created to provide strategic and clinical oversight of the organisation’s work across the UK.

As a voice, adviser, and thought leader in health IT, HIMSS UK has a critical role to play in ensuring engagement, conversations and platforms around health IT are aligned with patient-centered, clinical and front line priorities.

Focussing on these priorities, the newly created board will consist of leading NHS Chief Clinical Information Officers and Chief information officers from across the NHS.

The announcement was made by the advisory board’s new chair, Rachel Dunscombe, who will lead the board in addition to her new role as CEO of the NHS Digital Academy and Director of Digital role at Salford Royal Group.

Rachel announced the board in a speech during the Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care, which was held today at the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2017, in Manchester. HIMSS UK was honoured to have sponsored the awards, which are named after Dr Kate Granger, who led a tireless campaign to raise awareness around compassion in health and care after she was diagnosed with cancer. Kate sadly passed away in 2016.

Kicking off the awards ceremony, Rachel said: “Patient centred care in the digital space has gained prominence as a concept over the last few years, but it’s clear that more needs to be done. As health organisations and systems successfully adapt and implement technology for the modern age, we must do so with compassionate, patient cantered principles guiding our every move.

“And it’s these guiding principles that will form the basis of the first ever HIMSS UK Advisory Board, which I am I delighted to be launching today. As the chair of the new HIMSS UK Advisory Board, I am working closely the HIMSS team including its Chief Medical Officer Dr Mark Davies to put together a panel of NHS CIO and CCIOs to help embed clinical, patient-centred and front line priorities in everything we do – from setting the debates and discussions at our events, to editorial in our media publications, all with a view to transforming health and care through technology.”

Stephen Bryant, Managing Director of HIMSS UK, said: “A key corporate priority for HIMSS UK is to ensure that everything we do – from topics covered at our events to the support and tools we provide to the health system -  is aligned to the priorities of the NHS front line and to those of our partners. The advisory board, consisting of some of the highest profile CIOs and CCIOs in the country, will give us this important oversight and assurance. 

HIMSS UK will announce the rest of its board members in the coming weeks.