Joanna Bircher Joins the AQuA Board

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Joanna Bircher, GP and Clinical Director for the Greater Manchester GP Excellence Programme as a new member of our Board.

Dr Joanna Bircher

Our Board plays a vital role in helping to set our overall vision for our work with members and customers, and Joanna joins as the sixth of our Directors taken from our member organisations across the North West; alongside four external independent Directors.

Speaking on the announcement, Chief Executive David Fillingham said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Joanna to the Board. She has wealth of experience not just as a GP in Tameside, but also as a clinical leader across the region and on a number of national projects.

“Our Board have a real range of experience across health and care, which we benefit from massively in terms of our work with our members and customers. We’re really looking forward to working with her in the coming weeks and months, and adding her knowledge and skills to the team.”

Adding to this, Joanna said:

“I am so pleased to be joining the AQuA board at a time when it is being increasingly recognised that supporting UK General Practice to develop Quality Improvement capability may help the NHS to respond to the current challenges.

"I hope to bring with me the ‘eyes and ears’ of a working GP, with experience in applying QI methods at the front line to support AQuA in its mission to improve health and care quality.”

In addition to her role with Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, Joanna is a fellow for The Health Foundation’s prestigious Generation Q, and Quality Improvement Clinical lead for NHS Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group.

She has also been a GP partner at Lockside Medical Centre, Stalybridge, since qualifying as a GP in 1998, and combines her clinical duties with GP training for the North West Deanery.

In addition, she has also been a Clinical Support Fellow for Quality Improvement at the Royal College of GPs since 2014, as well as their joint clinical lead for the college’s work on the National Diabetes Audit.

Joanna is highly passionate about quality improvement in general practice, and used her Generation Q fellowship to explore ways to support frontline staff across GP practices to deliver improvements.

Joanna regularly shares her thoughts and updates on Twitter via @JoannaBircherQI. For more information on our Board, please visit our website.

Could You Be Our Next Board Member?

The Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA) is seeking expressions of interest to join our Board from senior leaders from organisations signed up to AQuA membership.

Our Board plays a vital role in helping to set our overall vision for our work with members and customers, and is made up of five Directors taken from our member organisations across the North West, as well as four external independent Directors.

We are looking to appoint one member Director to replace Dr. John Dean, who stood down earlier this year to take up a new national role.

AQuA Chief Executive David Fillingham said: 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for senior members to use their experience and insight to help shape our work, and ensure we continue to offer the best possible support to help our members address a range of challenges across health and care.

David Fillingham, AQuA Chief Executive

“John has been with us since for over six years, and during this time has made a massive contribution to our work. Whilst we’re sad to see him go, we wish him all the best in his new role with the Royal College of Physicians.”

In order to ensure we have a balance of experience and perspectives, we would particularly welcome applications from members with a medical background. However, all expressions will be considered.

Further information about our Board, including current members, is available on our website. Full information about the role is available in the person specification.

To express your interest, please send a short CV and covering letter outlining why you wish to join our Board, and how you meet the requirements, to Carole.Maloney@srft.nhs.uk.

The deadline for expressions is Friday 13 October.

We would also welcome further discussions about this opportunity ahead of applications, which you can arrange with Carole via the above email, or by calling 0161 206 5187.

Expressions of Interest: AQuA Board Member Vacancies

The Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA) are now seeking expressions of interest from experienced leaders to join the AQuA Board.

AQuA Chief Executive
David Fillingham

AQuA’s Board is made up of five Directors from AQuA membership across the North West, as well as four external independent Directors.

We are looking to appoint two new Directors from across AQuA membership, following the departure of Michael Gregory and Gary Doherty, who are stepping down after taking up new roles outside the region.

To help ensure a balance of expertise across our Board, we are particularly interested in applications from members with financial backgrounds, as well as those with experience across primary care and/or commissioning.

AQuA Chief Executive David Fillingham said:

“Our Board members bring a wealth of experience and perspectives to their role in setting and scrutinising AQuA’s work and overall vision.

“Michael and Gary have played a vital role in this during their time with us, and we wish them the best of luck with their new roles.

“We’re now looking for two new Directors, to help ensure we continue meet the changing needs of our members, and provide them with the best possible support we can to address their aims and challenges across health and social care.”

For more information about the role, please download the role description.

To apply, please send a short CV and covering letter, detailing why you would like to join the Board and how you meet the role’s requirements, to carole.maloney@srft.nhs.uk.

If you would like to arrange a further discussion about the role, please contact us on the email above, or call 0161 206 8938.

The deadline for applications is the end of Friday 4 November 2016.