Geoff is supporting the Integrated Care System (ICS) on system reform and his professional experience, together with his wider knowledge of the Morecambe Bay area, make him an ideal person for the role of Advisor to the UHMBT Board.
In particular, Geoff is supporting the Trust Board with its ambitions for system reform, integrated care and the New Hospitals Programme (NHP) in Lancashire and South Cumbria. The NHP offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build brand new hospital facilities and help transform health outcomes for the region’s population.
Geoff has a wealth of skills and knowledge for this role and will also continue in his role as Chair of Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group. His initial appointment is for a one-year period.
Geoff was born and brought up in Liverpool and he completed his medical studies there. He initially came to Morecambe Bay for training but never left. He was a senior partner at Risedale GP Surgery in Barrow-in-Furness for 35 years and now works as a Locum GP and in the Out-of-Hours Service with Cumbria Health on Call (CHoC).
Geoff’s wide-ranging career includes working in training, occupational health, palliative care, commissioning and being a representative on local medical committees. He was Interim Chair of Cumbria CCG before the boundary change, when he was elected as the Vice Clinical Chair of Morecambe Bay CCG in April 2017. Geoff has since been elected to the role of Clinical Chair for Morecambe Bay CCG, which he commenced in August 2018.
Geoff said: “Healthcare is at the centre of everything I’m interested so I am honoured to be working as an advisor to the Trust Board of UHMBT at a time when services are being transformed for the benefit of our patients and our local communities.
“As a GP and citizen of Barrow since 1981, I have lots to be thankful for and many of my family members have benefited from the care and services provided by UHMBT. My family has had lots of good experiences of care and I have raised eight children here.
“I am happy to be an advisor to the Trust Board because, at this level, you can often bring benefits to a much larger group of people through correct actions, commissioning, planning and implementation of plans.
“I have great optimism about the future here in Morecambe Bay because we have an excellent partnership developing through Bay Health and Care Partners (BHCP). This is something I’m particularly interested in seeing through as UHMBT is playing a major part in BHCP.”
Professor Mike Thomas, Chair of the Board for UHMBT, said: “We are delighted that Geoff has joined us as an advisor and wish to warmly welcome him to our Trust.
“Geoff’s strong links to Morecambe Bay as a Barrow GP, local resident and Chair of Morecambe Bay CCG, will ensure that he always has the best interests of patients and local communities in mind when he is advising us on the reform of systems, integration of care, progressing the New Hospitals Programme and much more.”
UHMBT holds Trust Board meetings in public ten times a year. Further information on the Trust Board is available on the UHMBT website at: www.uhmbt.nhs.uk