A LOCAL hospital boss has represented the UK on the world stage.
Professor Matthew Cooke, director of strategy and deputy medical director at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospitals, has traveled to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to act as the representative for UK medicine.
Professor Cooke, formerly the Department of Health’s ‘czar’ for emergency care, joined a 24-strong working group consisting of health experts from across the globe to present his opinions on emergency care and how standards can be improved internationally.
The director, who is also the professor of emergency medicine at the University of Warwick alongside his clinical role, was selected as the UK’s representative on the group because of his research looking at the design of emergency care systems and his international advisory work on improving emergency care.
Saying he was ‘hugely honoured’ to be representing the country on an international level, Professor Cooke said he was in the company of ‘some extremely accomplished and passionate healthcare professionals from across the world’.
He added: “I believe together we can really do some great work.
“At our first meeting we discussed the priorities for improving emergency healthcare worldwide, ranging from having a single emergency call number in each country linked to an ambulance service, to the levels of training of staff working in hospital emergency units.
“The work will continue until the WHO assembly makes a formal resolution in a couple of years following recommendations from the working group and I look forward to using my expertise developed from working in the UK’s healthcare system for many years to help improve safety and quality in patient care across the world.”
Professor Cooke, from Solihull, was also named in the prestigious Health Service Journal (HSJ) Top 100 Clinical Leaders list.
