The London Clinical Senate is currently recruiting new members for its Council, which is its governing body.
RCOT is keen to have occupational therapy representation on the Clinical Senate. Its role is to provide independent, clinical and strategic advice to London’s commissioners and providers.
Clinical Senates are independent bodies within NHS England. They exist to support the improvement and development of health and care services through the provision of clinical advice to commissioners and supporting them to make the best decisions about health care for the populations they serve.
Senate advice is always independent, impartial, and informed by the best available evidence.
The members of the Senate Council:
- oversee the work of the London Clinical Senate
- take part in the Senate’s provision of independent strategic clinical advice
- provide leadership on services redesign and improvement
- when providing advice, promote the needs of patients above the needs organisations or professions.
Steve Tolan, Allied Health Professions Lead at NHS England (London region) is happy to speak to any potential applicants to give advice. If applicants aren’t successful, he would also like to offer time to discuss future opportunities and ideas for career development. Steve can be contacted on steve.tolan@nhs.net.
The NHS England team wrote the prevention and health inequalities section of the NHS Long Term Plan and the focus for London will be on integration of services and mental health –this plays to our profession’s strengths. What the Senate is looking for is the ability to provide strategic advice, so this is key to any application.