The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme has appointed a leading orthopaedic surgeon to work as a clinical ambassador in its London regional hub.

Mr Vinay Takwale, chief of the division of surgery at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will work with clinicians and managers from some of the 23 trusts in the London hub region to help improve care.

GIRFT now has 20 clinical ambassadors working with chief executives, medical directors and others to draw up plans to achieve the strategic opportunities raised across the 39 GIRFT workstreams.

These experienced clinicians support trusts in tackling the challenges behind the unwarranted variation GIRFT’s deep dive visits highlight, as well as helping to implement the recommendations from national reports. They work within GIRFT’s seven regional hubs alongside the programme’s implementation managers.

Mr Takwale said: “I have seen the value of the Getting It Right First Time programme first hand in my role at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and I am delighted to now be working as a clinical ambassador to help others maximise the opportunities highlighted by the GIRFT methodology and process.”

BIOGRAPHY:

Mr Takwale is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust specialising in upper limb surgery.

He qualified as a doctor in 1988 from the University of Pune in India, then carried out his higher surgical training on the South Thames (West) rotation including St George’s Hospital in London and associated teaching hospitals, including specialist fellowships at Wrightington Hospital in Greater Manchester.

He is currently the chief of the division of surgery at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and was formerly president of the British Orthopaedic Directors Society (BODS).