The head of delivery at NHS England, Chris Richmond, has been appointed principal clinical consultant at digital consultancy, Answer Digital.
Richmond will provide clinical input into healthcare projects, initially focusing on AI, interoperability, and virtual wards.
He brings with him 30 years of clinical experience in the NHS, including 23 years as a frontline paramedic, before moving into policy and innovation.
And he was credited for leading on national projects including service design for NHS 111, new payment models for the New Models of Care programme, and he developed a £977m model for enhanced health in care homes.
In addition, he was also the national innovation lead at NHS RightCare, helping to scale innovations which were improving outcomes and efficiencies.
He joins Answer Digital from NHS England, where he scaled the first COVID-19 technology-enabled virtual ward, developing guidance on information governance, procurement, and clinical pathways, and working with the NIHR to gather evidence on the impact of virtual wards.
He also supported the development of an evidence-based benefit strategy for digital innovations and supported the creation of tools for innovators to articulate their benefits.
Commenting on his appointment, Richmond said: “Just as NHS 111 was transformational for the NHS, AI is a major catalyst for change, if delivered correctly.
“I look forward to providing clinical safety input and evidence-based approaches to support the implementation and scale of the most-effective AI-enabled technologies.”
He added: “I really respect the ethos at Answer to nurture teams and to do the right things the right way.
“There are few national and regional digital transformation projects that Answer haven’t been involved in, so I’m very excited to put my technical expertise to the test and help develop solutions that are safe and effective, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”
Outside of health technology and data, Richmond was a trustee for a mental health charity, supporting people recovering from mental health problems.
He also reviews cases for a Use of Force Scrutiny Panel in South Yorkshire, providing a clinical view on the application of force used by the police in an effort to reduce the potential inequities experienced by those with mental health issues.
