Senior PCRS member to lead London respiratory clinical network

PCRS Executive member Dr Vince Mak, Consultant Physician in Respiratory Integrated Care at Imperial College Healthcare Trust, has been appointed Clinical Director of the London Respiratory Strategic Clinical Network (RSCN).

The Network, set up by NHS England and NHS RightCare, will bring together stakeholders - providers, commissioners and patients - to create alignment around programmes of transformational work that will improve care for respiratory disease.

The network will focus initially on the key areas for improvement set out by the NHS Long Term Plan, the BLF Taskforce, and NHS RightCare National Initiatives of increased and accurate diagnosis, optimising inhaled medication use and improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation. 

It will establish a whole system approach to achieving improvement across a complex pathway of care. The new clinical networks being established in England play a key role in the health and care system by providing clinical and commissioning leadership to support local decision making for improving outcomes.

Vince’s role as Clinical Director will be to bring together a multi-professional team of experts in respiratory care across all care providers along with patient representatives to help design pathways of care for common respiratory conditions.  A core Clinical Leadership Group will examine the data around current care provision and then formulate and disseminate implementation plans across the five STPs in London. 

“I am flattered to have been offered this opportunity to make a real difference to the care of patients with respiratory disease in London and to improve the Lung Health of Londoners in general.

“It has always been my dream to ensure that we practice proactive health maintenance rather than just reactive healthcare, and this is an ideal opportunity to make sure that this is embedded in our practice for the future.  We need to focus on outcomes that are meaningful for patients and provide the best value for the limited resources we have to ensure a sustainable NHS for future generations,” says Vince.