[T]wo new roles have been created to bring to life the reality of accountable care across Morecambe Bay.
Dr Andy Knox, a GP in Carnforth, has been appointed Director of Population Health and Engagement, and Dr Andy Maddox, a GP from Bay Medical Group, Morecambe, has been appointed Clinical Chief – Out of Hospital.
Jackie Daniel, Chief Executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: “These new roles will be crucial in breaking down the barriers which exist across the health and care system in our area. They will help to reduce the culture of working in silos which is prevalent across the NHS, and help us achieve the reality of the vision we share across health and care here in Morecambe Bay.”
Andrew Bennett, Chief Officer of NHS Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group, added: “We have already benefited greatly from the willingness of doctors, nurses and other health professionals to offer their skills and experience in tackling our biggest health challenges in Morecambe Bay.
“These new appointments confirm our commitment to clinical leadership to help us sustain the success of our local partnership.”
The two GPs will take up their roles in the New Year, but are both relishing the opportunity.
Dr Knox said: “As a local GP, I am really excited and feel privileged to be taking up this role. I see my role as having three key priorities:
“Firstly, I hope that together, we can build a people movement to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone. That means we have a big job on our hands to tackle some huge health inequalities and wrestle with some significantly difficult social issues. But together, we can find a way and I want to do whatever I can to enable that to happen.
“Secondly, I will be continuing to build strong partnerships across the public and voluntary sectors so that we use our resources as well as possible to serve the needs of our communities here.
“Thirdly I will be working with our teams in the NHS and Public Health in partnership within a culture of joy and kindness, so that we can provide the best health care of any place in the UK.”
And Dr Maddox said: “As healthcare continues to evolve, I will be working with the services, which are provided for patients in their own communities as these are crucial in ensuring quality care is maintained, whether that’s at home or within the palliative care setting.
Shaping and developing this sector is vital to our aspirations and advancement of the services provided to the patients and public we serve.”
“As the NHS continues to evolve, there are many new developments that will be implemented which will have a positive impact on people’s health, which I look forward to tackling.”