The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) has made the following national appointments to the Medical Directorate:

• Barry Cockcroft (currently Chief Dental Officer for the Department of Health) has been appointed Chief Dental Officer
• Keith Ridge (currently Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for the Department of Health) has been appointed Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
• James Palmer (currently Medical Director for South of England, Specialised Commissioning) has been appointed Clinical Director (Specialised Services)

The appointment of Barry Cockcroft to the post of Chief Dental Officer will see him continue as principal dental adviser and professional head of dental staff in England, and the appointment of Keith Ridge to Chief Pharmaceutical Officer will see him continue as professional lead. As the clinical director for specialised services, James Palmer will ensure clinical leadership to the NHS CB in the direct commissioning of specialised services whilst continuing his role as Consultant Neurosurgeon at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

They will be part of the Medical Directorate working in partnership with other directorates, domain leads and other clinical leaders in regional and local area teams to improve outcomes for patients across all five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

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