Dr Amar Shah appointed National Clinical Director for Improvement
Dr Amar Shah spoke of his delight this week after he was announced as the first National Clinical Director for Improvement.
Amar has been the National Improvement lead for mental health at RCPsych for the last seven years, chairing the College's QI committee and working with the College’s National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) and others to lead national quality improvement programmes in mental health. He said:
“I’m delighted to be taking up this new National Clinical Director role, leading the adoption of quality improvement across the NHS.
“It is testament to the growing appetite and evidence-base for a systematic improvement approach to solving complex quality issues.
“The role will build on the work that I’ve led with others at RCPsych over the last seven years, through my role as national improvement lead for mental health, which has involved the design and delivery of large-scale quality improvement programmes on topics such as restrictive practice, sexual safety, workforce wellbeing and mental health equity, which have made a tangible difference to the care, experience and outcomes for our service users, staff and communities.
“The improvement work led by RCPsych now represents the largest QI programme in mental health anywhere in the world, which is something we should be really proud of.”
Amar confirmed he would retain his role at RCPsych, in addition to the job as National Clinical Director, saying:
“I’ll be continuing in this role, alongside the team at the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, as I start working with Trusts, integrated care systems and NHS England to support adoption of improvement across all areas of health and care.”
The College’s President, Dr Lade Smith CBE, said:
“This is a very much deserved recognition and a tribute to the excellent Quality Improvement work Amar has been leading on for East London Mental Health Foundation Trust and for the College. I wish him every success in the new role.”
Amar will join the newly established National Improvement Board and play a key role in the delivery of NHS IMPACT (Improving Patient Care Together), providing expert clinical leadership and advice.
As National Clinical Director, Amar will be a source of expert clinical knowledge on the latest scientific advances and innovations in science, technology, data, digital and therapeutics in the field.
John Ashcroft, Director of NHS IMPACT and Pathways said:
“We are delighted that Amar will be joining us as the National Clinical Director for Improvement. Amar brings a wealth of clinical leadership and improvement experience and credibility. He holds a crucial role in equipping the NHS to deliver sustainable improvement as part of NHS IMPACT.”