Recruitment for Medical Director Designate for the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

Posted on: 10 February 2022

Dr James ThomasDr James Thomas has been appointed as the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) Medical Director. James’ appointment has been confirmed following an open and comprehensive recruitment process involving West Yorkshire partners and stakeholders. This is subject to Parliament confirming the statutory responsibilities of ICBs as anticipated from July 2022.

James is currently the Clinical Chair for Bradford District and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group and a GP working in the area since 2002. He is also the Chair of the Partnership’s Clinical Forum, and Co-chair of our Improving Population Health Programme Board.

With his support the Clinical Forum has led on the development of our ethical standard clinical framework and introduced a leadership approach which values all clinicians’ and care professionals’ voices at a West Yorkshire level. This is all about ensuring we keep our people and citizens at the centre of all we do.  

For the Improving Population Health Programme, he has provided a solid foundation for the implementation of the Partnership’s Health Inequality Academy. This has included working with partners to reduce health inequalities due to social, geographical, or other barriers by addressing some of the preventable differences that contribute to inequality – some of which has been recognised as good practice nationally.

James is originally from London where he carried out his medical training and initially worked. He moved to Yorkshire in 1995 and trained as a GP in the Airedale area. He is passionate about tackling health inequalities and education in local primary care services. James teaches medical students, young doctors, and GPs. He was the school lead for Quality in GP for Health Education England in Yorkshire and Humber and was previously a GP executive and clinical chair at Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group leading on children’s services and the New Models of Care Programme.

James is ambitious for colleagues and communities and believes strongly that multi-professional clinical and professional leadership should be at the heart of our work. As a member of the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, alongside the director of nursing, he will provide leadership to the clinical and professional directorate and across the Partnership. In doing so he will be ably supported by clinical and professional leaders at a system level, such as Dr Sal Uka, Clinical Director for West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts; Ruth Buchan, Chief Executive Officer at Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire; Maureen Drake, Chair of the Partnership’s Allied Health Professional Forum, and Dr Sohail Abbas who leads the Partnership’s Health Inequalities Network; as well as those in organisations, places and all clinical professions.

The directorate will align with national guidance on system clinical leadership and drive forward quality, innovation, improvement, and inclusion. Making improvements to population health and our Partnership’s ambition of reducing health inequalities will be threaded throughout, with multiple professional disciplines (including social care) embedded to deliver.

James said: ‘I’m delighted to have been offered this role. I am really looking forward to continuing my working relationship with all colleagues I work alongside. I am also grateful for this opportunity and pleased to be part of the integrated care board as we continue to develop our integrated care system, whilst delivering high-quality care’.

We have excellent leaders across all levels, and I am sure you will continue to support James in his new role. James is one of four executive director roles for the ICB (finance, nursing, and people). The next steps include the appointment of the ICB designate roles of the people director post later this month, as well as the announcement for the successful nursing director, and the place-based committee chairs and members this month and four independent non-executive ICB members into next month.

We announced Jonathan Webb as the Director of Finance on Wednesday 9 February.  We will update you on the others important appointments as soon as we can, following open recruitment processes.

Our thanks to partners and stakeholders involved in the recruitment processes for these important roles, and for your continued support in making joined up care a reality for the people and communities we serve and the colleagues we work alongside.  We look forward to continuing our working relationship with you all as we move into the next phase of the design and delivery of our West Yorkshire Partnership.

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