Dame Yve Buckland has been named as the first chair of the new NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement by health minister, Jane Kennedy.
Dame Yve said: "I am thrilled to be appointed to this role; the NHS Institute is an exciting venture which will help to provide an ambitious focus for new ideas, technologies and practices to improve services to patients."
The new organisation, which will be launched as a Special Health Authority on 1 July 2005, has undergone a name change before it starts work. It was previously known as the NHS Institute for Learning, Skills and Innovation. The new Institute was established as part of the Arms Length Bodies review in December 2004, combining NHSU, the corporate university of the NHS, and the Modernisation Agency.
Approximately 41,000 NHS staff enrolled on NHSU courses over its two year operation, far short of projected figures. Its budget was over £60m between 2003 and 2005, though it cancelled a procurement for its ambitious plan for a virtual campus.
The institute is intended to assume a leadership role in the implementation and delivery of change in the NHS and manage a new NHS Innovation Centre
Kennedy said: "I am sure that Dame Yve’s vision and expertise will contribute greatly both to the launch of the NHS Institute in July this year and in meeting the challenges ahead." Dame Buckland has previously chaired both the National Consumer Council for Water and the Health Development Agency.
Sir Ian Carruthers OBE, Transition Director for the NHS Institute and Chief Executive of Dorset and Somerset SHA said the new agency will deliver benefits to patients by fostering a culture of learning and innovation within the NHS, and accelerating the improvement of health care in local communities.
The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement is intended to support the NHS and its workforce and public by encouraging innovation and developing capability at the frontline.