What can I do for you?
I am a senior solicitor in our health team, working in the diverse but fascinating areas of list management, continuing healthcare, fertility provision, gender dysphoria and drugs and service commissioning, specialising in the field of priorities.
My work involves advising and supporting primary care trusts in their regulation of healthcare professionals, on the one hand, and their commissioning responsibilities, on the other. Recognising that you are being faced with the most radical overhaul of the NHS in recent times, with the publication of the White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, the announced abolition of some of the arm's-length bodies, the operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund, and - as a backdrop to all of this - the current chilly economic climate, my colleagues and I are here to help you rise to the challenges presented, in the most cost effective way.
Supporting my clients' aims and objectives
A real highlight for me was our involvement with Warwickshire Primary Care Trust’s defence of judicial review proceedings brought by a group of individuals challenging the PCT’s decision, at the time, not to fund the drug Lucentis for wet age-related macular degeneration. The dilemma for patients across the country, who perceived themselves as victims of the “postcode lottery” in drugs commissioning, had raised the profile of the issue from the local to the national level, reinforced by a huge publicity drive by the RNIB. The PCT’s actions were not impeached by the High Court, however, which took steps to encourage the drug manufacturer, Novartis, to work with the PCT and Department of Health to develop a reimbursement scheme that was ultimately rolled out nationally.
More recently, I have been involved in developing the regional generic commissioning policies, about which a PCT Medical Director and Director of Primary Care said: "I am not sure how long they have been in gestation, but it is clear that a huge amount of work has gone into them; due credit to all those who have been involved in their development."
This year we successfully defended judicial review proceedings brought against North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust in R (Condliff) v North Staffordshire PCT in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
What do others say?
Our healthcare team is highly rated by clients not just for our breadth and depth of pragmatic, sector specific knowledge, but also our user friendly approach and response time. We were described by one client as "extremely supportive, friendly, professional and responsive". Another client said: "Just re-read your letter re the JR for this case ... absolutely sterling!" Of our work in the High Court and the Court of Appeal in the bariatric surgery litigation, our client said: "Thanks for your expert handling of the case. We couldn't have been in safer hands."
What else should you know?
I am a keen contributor to our Health Legal Update, which seeks to keep clients abreast of the most recent legal developments, and have written for the British Medical Journal on patient matters. (To download the latest copy of any of our publications, see the "Publications and updates" section on the right of this page or click here to see a list of all our publications for the health sector.)