RCS welcomes appointment of Professor Stephen Powis as NHS England Medical Director

Professor Stephen Powis, who is currently medical director of the Royal Free Hospital, has been appointed as NHS England’s Medical Director. He will take over from Sir Bruce Keogh who steps down from the post at the end of 2017. 
 
Responding to Professor Stephen Powis’s appointment, Professor Derek Alderson, President of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), said:
 
“We welcome Professor Stephen Powis to his new role as Medical Director for NHS England. He is joining at an important time, with the NHS on the verge of its 70th anniversary and as the NHS faces some of its greatest ever challenges.  
 
“We look forward to working with Professor Powis to protect access to elective surgery and ensure patients receive the highest quality of care. He will be an important voice for clinicians at the highest level of the NHS.   
 
“The RCS would also like to thank Sir Bruce Keogh for his time as Medical Director. Sir Bruce has served the NHS and medicine with distinction. We will miss the way he has approached improving patient safety and our health service as a whole.  
 
“Among his achievements are instigating the publication of surgeons’ performance data to drive up standards in the NHS and driving forward a campaign on sepsis which, through better public and professional awareness, will undoubtedly save lives.”
 
Stephen Powis is professor of renal medicine at University College London. He joined the Royal Free Hospital in 1997 as a consultant, becoming the trust’s medical director in 2006. His main clinical interest is renal transplantation.
 
He is the chairman of the Association of UK Universities medical directors group and a board member of Merton Clinical Commissioning Group. He is a past non-executive director of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, including a period of eight months as acting chairman. He is a past chairman of the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board specialty advisory committee for renal medicine and a former board member of Medical Education England. He was director of postgraduate medical and dental education for UCLPartners from 2010 to 2013.
 

Notes to editors

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, which exists to advance surgical standards and improve patient care.

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