BSG member Roland Valori scoops NHS Change Leader of the Year

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 09:44

Dr Roland Valori, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, has scooped a prize in the prestigious national NHS Leadership Awards 2009.

Dr Valori walked away with the award for Change Leader of the Year at the ceremony in London.

Dr Valori has been recognised for his work as national Endoscopy Lead for England. As such he has led the rejuvenation of the Endoscopy service in England and much of the methodology developed to generate quality improvement in endoscopy has been adopted internationally.

Following the award, Dr Valori said that he was proud that the endoscopy service in the UK had been dramatically improved:

"The patient experience had improved significantly and the service across the UK is now safer and more effective. I am delighted to have been a part of this process and by accepting this award I represent all those involved in making these improvements"

Roland was appointed as the national Clinical Lead for endoscopy services in 2003. Through his work as Clinical Lead, he has been responsible for improving the quality of the experience of patients having an endoscopy. Roland, together with other members of the National Endoscopy Team, has worked closely with the Joint Advisory Group for Gastroenterology (JAG) and the English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) to develop a patient-centred assessment tool for endoscopy units, called the Global Rating Scale (GRS).

The results from nine biannual assessments of the GRS since April 2005, demonstrate substantial and sustained improvements across the service in all aspects of the patient experience.

Roland is the clinical advisor for endoscopy services with the BCSP and has been responsible for developing the quality framework for the national Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

The panel of recognised judges, led by Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission, also includes Prof. Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director for the Department of Health and Dr Peter Carter OBE, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.

(With thanks to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital's Communications Team)