Ryan Kerstein, an NHS surgeon with a track record of supporting innovation, is the new Chief Medical Officer at Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV).
Ryan is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and he will continue his clinical practice at the trust while working three days a week for HIOTV.
Ryan said: “I want to play my part in helping innovation scale across the region and beyond, building bridges so that what works in one place can benefit patients everywhere.
“The NHS is full of people with good ideas, and the hard part is everything that comes after the idea: the value it brings, the change management, the relationships, and making sure it never adds to anyone’s workload.
“HIOTV has an outstanding track record, and my first job is to listen and learn from the team and the partners who have built that over more than a decade.
“This region has phenomenal strengths across healthcare, academia and industry. My hope is to help them grow and develop, and to make the Thames Valley even more of a hotbed for innovation in healthcare. I will keep working clinically, because staying close to patients keeps the work grounded.”
Professor Gary Ford, Chief Executive of HIOTV, said: “I am delighted that Ryan has joined our team after many years of working with the network. I look forward to seeing the difference his expertise will bring to our work.”