Appointment of Chair of the Jersey Care Commission

STATES OF JERSEY

APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR OF THE JERSEY CARE COMMISSION

Presented to the States on 3rd December 2024 by the Minister for the Environment

STATES GREFFE

2024  R.175

REPORT

Introduction  

The Minister, having consulted the Council of Ministers, is presenting this Report to the States Assembly, giving 2 weeks' notice of his proposed intention to appoint Dr Nigel Acheson as Chair of the Health and Social Care Commission (the "Care Commission").

The Care Commission is established under Article 35 and Schedule 2 of the Regulation of Care (Jersey) Law 2014 (the "2014 Law"). Article 35 states –

"35 Establishment of Health and Social Care Commission

1. There shall be a Health and Social Care Commission.
2. The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession.
3. The  Commission  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  4  and  not  more  than  8 Commissioners.
4. The States may by Regulations amend, in paragraph (3), the minimum and maximum number of Commissioners.
5. Schedule  2 has effect regarding the appointment of the  Commissioners, the discharge of the functions of the Commission, and the resources and funding of the Commission."

Schedule 2, paragraph 2(2), of the 2014 Law requires that –

"(2) The Minister shall, after consulting with the Council of Ministers –

1. select and appoint, by instrument in writing, a person to be a Commissioner and the Chairman of the Commission; and
2. decide  the  duration  of  that  person's  appointment  as  a  Commissioner  and Chairman.".

The 2014 Law further requires, under Schedule 2, paragraph 2(4), that –

"(4) The Minister shall, at least 2 weeks before making the appointment

under sub-paragraph (2), present to the States a notice of his or her selection and the intention to make the appointment.".

Background to the Care Commission  

The 2014 Law provides for the establishment of the Care Commission. The functions of the Care Commission, which are conferred on it by the 2014 Law, include –

• serving of improvement notices on registered health and social care providers or managers

• preparation and publication of standards for compliance with requirements imposed by Regulations

• carrying out inspections of any regulated activity at such interviews as specified in Regulations.

Matters relating to the appointment  

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The current Chair of the Care Commission, Mr Glenn Houston, is standing down on 31 December 2024, having served for nearly 8 years as the first Chair of the Commission. Mr  Houston  is  thanked  for  his  effective  leadership  of  the  Commission  from  its establishment through its expansion to date.

In accordance with the requirements of the 2014 Law, the selection process for the new chair was overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission. In addition, the proposed appointment conforms with the legal requirements of the 2014 Law with regard to skills, knowledge  and  experience  (as  set  out  in  Schedule  2,  paragraph  3(2)  and disqualifications for appointment (as set out in Schedule 2, paragraph 4).

Financial and resource implications  

The Chair will be contracted to work 40 days per year at £650 per day, commencing on 1 January 2025. Time spent travelling to and from Jersey is also able to be claimed.

As detailed within P.95/2014, As detailed within P.95/2014 and provided for under the Regulation of Care (Fees) (Jersey) Order 2022, the costs associated with the functioning of the JCC are met partly from fee income.

Short biography: Dr Nigel Acheson  

A biography of the new Chair is set out below:

Nigel Acheson has board level leadership experience as an executive, non-executive and charity trustee. He has held senior roles in health care regulation and the health and social care system in England over the last 15 years.

He has expertise in regulation through roles as Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and as Regional Medical Director and Responsible Officer for the South Region of NHS England (NHSE).

At the CQC Nigel led three operational teams to deliver regulation and the inspection programme for acute NHS and independent hospitals, NHS and independent ambulance services and hospices across London and the South of England, covering a population of over 30 million. He chaired the CQC Fit and Proper Persons panel, led developments to the maternity and acute hospital regulatory approach and chaired the CQC immediate regulatory response group in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

At NHS England Nigel led the implementation of the systems and processes to support medical revalidation by the General Medical Council in the South of England – across approximately  167  NHS  and  Independent  organisations,  covering  around  34,000 doctors.

He worked with the chief executives of the CQC and General Medical Council (GMC) to develop closer working relationships between the two regulators and was invited by the GMC to share his experience at the 2015 meeting of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities in Montreal.

R.175/2024

Nigel was an invited member of a number of Department of Health and Social Care working groups advising government on matters such as the response to the Paterson Inquiry (into a surgeon serving a prison sentence for failings in clinical care), maternity, and abortion services. He chaired one of the Keogh reviews of hospitals with high mortality rates following the publication of the Francis Report into failings in care at Mid Staffordshire Hospital, and was a member of the national maternity transformation programme board and the National Quality Board (a joint board between NHS England and the CQC).

As  a  consultant  gynaecological  oncologist  Nigel  built  a  national  profile  through contributions  to  this  specialist  area,  holding  leadership  roles  in  the  British Gynaecological  Cancer  Society,  British  Society  for  Colposcopy  and  Cervical Pathology, and as a national lead for the Dept of Health Enhanced Recovery Programme to implement evidence based surgical pathways of care. He was awarded his doctorate in medicine for research into tumour growth following surgical intervention in ovarian cancer, holds qualifications in patient safety and clinical risk management, health service governance and was awarded Founding Senior Fellowship of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management in 2017.

He is a Trustee and Patron of the FORCE cancer charity in Exeter, which provides holistic support to patients and families impacted by cancer.