A clinician from Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been appointed to lead a nationwide review of cardiology services.
Dr Stephen Hoole is one of two new clinical leaders appointed to NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, helping to drive forward new work to improve cardiology services for patients, staff and the wider NHS in England, and support elective recovery.
Dr Stephen Hoole, consultant cardiologist
He is appointed alongside Dr Mark Sopher (consultant cardiologist at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust) – together they join the existing clinical leadership team of Professor Simon Ray and Dr Sarah Clarke, consultant cardiologist at Royal Papworth, to focus on identifying and sharing best practice in areas such as diagnostics, cath lab optimisation, reducing length of stay for elective and emergency cardiology patients, and improving outpatient services.
Dr Hoole qualified in 1998 and has been a consultant interventional cardiologist at Royal Papworth Hospital since 2011. He initiated and continues to lead four regional cardiology services and one national service. He was a British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) research council member in 2013-15 and has been a committee member or chair for three NICE guideline committees.
He is currently a member of the NICE technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies appeal panel and acts as a specialist adviser to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Interventional Devices programme. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the European Society of Cardiology.
Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT Chair and National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery for NHS England, welcomed the two additional clinical leads and said: “The work Simon and Sarah have carried out for GIRFT over the years has led to some important improvements for both the patients using NHS cardiology services and the staff running them, but there are still significant challenges for the specialty and we cannot afford to be complacent.
“Strengthening the team with the additional expertise of Stephen Hoole and Mark Sopher means we can focus down on the areas where GIRFT can make the most difference and ensure we are driving forward the key improvements which will benefit patients in the future.”