Clinical leaders appointed to drive innovation across Greater Manchester

Health Innovation Manchester, the organisation charged with accelerating innovation across Greater Manchester’s health and care services, has strengthened its leadership team with two key appointments.

Professor Ian Bruce has joined as Research Director.  Ian is a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator and Professor of Rheumatology at the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Manchester and The Kellgren Centre for Rheumatology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. He is also Director of The NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.

As Research Director, Ian will work closely with NHS organisations and the four Universities across Greater Manchester to align research activity to address the needs of the population.

Commenting on his appointment, Ian said:

By harnessing our world-leading research activity to address health inequalities and working more closely with frontline clinicians, we can deliver major benefits for our population. Through our devolved health and social care system, we can support researchers to accelerate discoveries through into routine clinical practice and ultimately improve health outcomes in this region and beyond.

Dr Tracey Vell, who has been a Manchester-based GP for 24 years, has taken up the post of Medical Director for Primary Care to support GPs, practice staff, pharmacists, dentists and optometrists to adopt innovative products and solutions.  Tracey is also the Associate Lead for Primary and Community Care at the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Chief Executive of the Manchester Local Medical Committee.

Tracey will join Health Innovation Manchester’s clinical leadership team, alongside Prof Donal O’Donoghue OBE, Medical Director (innovation deployment) and Prof Peter Trainer, Medical Director (research).  Commenting on joining the organisation, Tracey said: “By bringing new medicines, technology and digital solutions into primary care, we will be able to improve patient outcomes, free up capacity and develop a workforce for the future.  I am looking forward to working with clinicians and practitioners across Greater Manchester to drive innovative change forward at pace.”

Prof Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Manchester, added:

Over the last 12 months we have grown from a new organisation to having a portfolio of 90 innovation projects that are being actively deployed across health and care settings. It is vital that strong clinical leadership and evidence-based research is embedded into our plans, to support the adoption and spread of innovation at pace and scale and attract a constant pipeline of new innovations that can be tried and tested here in Greater Manchester. It is great to have Ian and Tracey on board to help drive this forward.

Health Innovation Manchester one of 15 NHS Academic Health Science Networks and one of six Academic Health Science Centres.  It brings together the NHS, academia and industry to find new innovations that will improve the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester’s 2.8m citizens.

For more information visit www.healthinnovationmanchester.com