Professor David Croisdale-Appleby confirmed as new Chair of Healthwatch England
David will take up the role to lead Healthwatch nationally to ensure decision makers and the NHS hear the public voice and use their experiences to improve care.
He also joins CQC as a non-executive director.
David is an academic, medical educationist and social reformer, and has held many leadership positions at organisations across the health and care sectors.
Until recently a non-executive director at Health Education England, David is the current chair of the Royal College of Physicians. He also chairs Durham University International Business School and Dementia UK.
His previous positions as a Chair have included at an NHS trust, the forensic science regulator and the UK-wide sector skills council for social care and social work.
David’s national awards include an OBE in 2009, the Sunday Times Non-Executive Director of the Year in 2016, and the National Charity Governance Award in 2019.
Speaking of his appointment, Prof David Croisdale-Appleby said:
"Listening to the voice of the public is essential in designing and shaping the NHS and social care services if we are to achieve better quality care for our nation.
"Over the last decade, the Healthwatch network has empowered millions of people to share their personal experiences of care, and has become an essential advocate to which policy-makers and services listen. They’ve demonstrated the power of patient feedback to help decision-makers understand what is, and isn’t working well, identifying issues, and suggesting how best to improve them.
"I feel very privileged to take on the role of Chair of Healthwatch England at this critical time for our health and care services, focusing on the big issues that concern the public and the communities that experience severe health inequalities."
Ian Dilks, Chair at CQC, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Professor Croisdale-Appleby to the CQC Board in his role as Chair of Healthwatch England. He joins us at a critical period for the organisation as we implement our new strategy and seek to ensure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, high quality care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working closely with him and the wider Board to drive improvements across health and social care.”
David replaces Belinda Black, who has been an interim Chair of the Healthwatch England Committee, following the departure of Sir Robert Francis KC last November.
