The GMC has appointed Niall Dickson as the new Chief Executive of the General Medical Council. He will take up his post in January next year.
Niall joins the GMC from The King’s Fund, where he has been Chief Executive since 2004. Prior to that, he was the BBC’s Social Affairs Editor.
GMC Chair, Professor Peter Rubin, welcomed Mr Dickson’s appointment. He said:
“The GMC is leading a major programme of regulatory change for doctors – including the introduction of revalidation. This is a challenging time and Niall Dickson is ideal for the job. He brings a wide understanding of the complex issues involved in delivering top quality healthcare in the UK. As a former broadcaster, he also has a strong record in communications, which will be vital in helping us to engage with doctors, patients and the public about the changes which are coming.
“I am confident that Niall can build on the many achievements of Finlay Scott– who has been Chief Executive of the GMC for 15 years.”
Notes to editors:
Niall Dickson - Biography
Niall Dickson took up his post at The King’s Fund in January 2004 - since then the Fund has led the debate around how to improve the care of patients with long term conditions, pioneered our understanding of health care reform and commissioned major inquiries including a review of social care funding, which led directly to a government Green Paper on the future funding of social care in England.
He has an understanding of the GMC through his recent chairmanship of one of the Department of Health working groups tasked with taking forward recommendations in the White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety. Niall chaired the group asked to examine those aspects of the White Paper concerned with enhancing public confidence in the regulators of healthcare professionals.
As a member of the Cabinet Office Honours Committee (Health), the NHS National Stakeholder Form and the ministerial sounding board on social care, Niall will bring many insights into the wider aspects of healthcare policy to the GMC.
He is also a trustee of the Consumers Association (Which?) and of the Leeds Castle Foundation as well as a patron of the charity ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence). Niall is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners.
He was educated in Scotland and went to Edinburgh University. Early working experiences included teaching in a comprehensive school, work for Age Concern England and a number of years editing the Nursing Times. He joined the BBC as its health correspondent 1988 and went on to become its Social Affairs Editor in 1995.
