Core objectives
- To support the executive team
- Ensure group model is a success – to the benefit of the population, patients and staff
- Maintain a high quality of services
- Ensure we are an integral part of the wider Tees Valley landscape
Background
Professor Derek Bell OBE is Chair to the Board for both North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s as part of a group model of care.
Professor Bell is a physician by background, with over 40 years’ experience in the NHS; including service design and delivery as well as research and education. His remit has included working as an external advisor to Government in England, Scotland and Ireland as well as internationally.
Derek studied at the University of Edinburgh graduating in 1980, was appointed as the first professor of acute medicine at Imperial College London and continues to be an emeritus professor. He was elected as the inaugural president of the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) in 2000, in 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Life Fellowship to SAM.
He has also led a number of initiatives, including the development of a new medical specialty (acute medicine) and the development of a nationally adopted clinical scoring system to assess acutely unwell patients.
Professor Bell has over 220 peer reviewed publications and his research grant awards exceeded £22m.
He was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Unscheduled Care and Quality Improvement and was previously president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (2014-2020).
Body membership
- Honorary Life Fellowship for Society for Acute Medicine (SAM)
- Fellow for Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE)
- Newcastle University Council Member
Ambitions for the Trust/group
- Maximise our estate and footprint – improve services and hospitals by ensuring we continue to invest in our estates and infrastructure.
- Ensure we deliver on recruiting and valuing staff at scale – fostering a compassionate and inclusive workforce with career development opportunities.
- To have a robust health and social care system that is focused on reducing health inequalities and enhancing the health of our population.
Ambitions for the Tees Valley health and care landscape
- Increase visibility and impact, and lead in research and innovation in the region.
- Strive to be a UK leader in demonstrating partnership working, improving health and care for our population, across the region.
- Continue to develop community services and the populations’ access to health on their doorstep with developments such as the community diagnostic centre and the management of urgent treatment centres.