Medical Society Sir Andrew Dillon, CEO of the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence
The Medical Society was delighted to be able to welcome the founder and CEO of the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), Sir Andrew Dillon. The institute was set up under the Labour government in 1999 in an attempt to deal with disparities in clinical practice across the country which had led to media and public criticism of the NHS as a whole. It works as an independent advisory body in all forms of clinical practice to appraise new practices and treatments and to update existing ones where necessary. Sir Andrew could not be better qualified to discuss how NICE has been transformed from a political and clinical curiosity to a real force for good in terms of regulating the NHS. Indeed, its influence in inspiring healthcare systems across the world led the editor of the British Medical Journal to claim that ‘NICE may prove to be one of Britain’s greatest cultural assets along with Shakespeare, Newtonian Physics, The Beatles, Harry Potter and The Teletubbies.’ We were incredibly fortunate to have had Sir Dillon speak at the final medical society meeting, as a fitting end to what has been a fantastic year.
Louis Murphy (NCWS)
