BLACKPOOL Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has appointed a new Non Executive Director.
Dr Jim Gardner, a GP who is currently the Deputy Head of the School of Medicine at UCLAN, has extensive executive director experience having been North Lancashire Primary Care Trust’s Medical Director from 2007 to 2012.
He then became the Medical Director for the Lancashire Area Team of NHS England and was involved in the Care Quality Commission and the Keogh investigations into the Trust in 2014.
Prior to those roles Jim worked for Blackpool Primary Care Trust as a GP with Special Interest in Public Health.
Jim said: “I have worked in and around the Blackpool area since about 2007 and am fond of this Trust and am aware of the challenges it faces.
“I see my role as helping the Trust develop its clinical strategy and also in the context of a bigger picture in relation to the work going on across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
“This is a complex organisation but I have some useful insight into the role of regulators such as the GMC and CQC, so I am hoping I can bring that broad knowledge and managerial experience to the role.
“I am really looking forward to meeting everyone and working as part of the Board.’’
Pearse Butler, Trust Chairman, said: “We welcome Jim onto the Board of Directors and look forward to working with him.
“He has extensive experience of working in the health service and I am sure he will have a major influence on the Board.’’
Jim is also a Trustee on the Board of St John’s Hospice in Lancaster where he chairs their ‘Care, Quality and Services Committee’.