The Government has appointed an influential GP to advise on its efforts to shift more care and resources into the community.
Sir John Oldham has accepted a direct ministerial appointment to the Department of Health and Social Care, the Government has announced.
The retired GP who was clinical lead for quality and productivity at the Department of Health until 2013 will work ‘closely’ with health secretary Wes Streeting to ‘support’ the ambition to ‘move to a neighbourhood health service’.
The Government said that the appointment is a paid role, which began on 2 December for a 12-month period, and not a civil service appointment.
It said: ‘Sir John will work closely with Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, to transform the health and care system and move to a neighbourhood health service.
‘Lord Darzi’s 2024 independent investigation of the NHS highlighted the urgent need to transform the health and care system and move to a neighbourhood health service that delivers co-ordinated care closer to home, to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer.
‘Sir John is a GP by background and has very significant experience in the sphere of primary care, change management, and leading improvement programmes.’
Sir John has advised on Labour health policies before; in 2013, he was tasked by then Labour leader Ed Miliband to lead a review on health policies, which argued for the integration of health and social care into a ‘system of whole person care’.
He was also responsible for setting out the QIPP targets that formed the basis of the QOF’s quality and productivity indicators, and has also been on the board of the CQC.
A former GP from Glossop, Derbyshire, Sir John qualified at Manchester Medical School in 1978 and worked in various teaching hospitals, culminating as a GP trainee in inner city Manchester, before becoming a partner.
He had several roles in the Department of Health, as he was the lead for Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) and a member of the National Quality Board, having previously run the primary care development team.
In 2012, he decided not to take up a position at the newly-formed NHS England and stepped down from his role at the Department of Health, saying he believed his efforts would be better focused on helping GP practices adapt to the new world as providers.
In 2000, he received an OBE for services to patients, and in 2003 was awarded a knighthood for services to the NHS.
