Andrew Colquhoun and Pamela Charlwood have been appointed as the first two non-executive directors of the new Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA). The Department of Health, the General Medical Council (GMC) and the General Optical Council (GOC) welcomed the move.
Andrew Colquhoun has been appointed for four years from November 2009. He is chairman of the Investigation Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and holds a number of non-executive positions in the field of horticulture and the environment. He is also a practising counsellor.
Pamela Charlwood has been appointed for three years from November 2009. She is Vice Chair of the Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and non-executive lead for clinical governance and risk. She is a non-executive board member of the South East England Regional Development Agency, and the Learning and Skills Council’s South East Region.
Both directors will work with Chair Walter Merricks to establish OHPA, which from 2011 will adjudicate on fitness to practise cases brought forward by the GMC and, eventually, the GOC. By separating investigation from adjudication, OHPA will ensure that fitness to practise decisions are fair, effective and separate from the regulators, the professions and government.
Chair Walter Merricks said: “I am pleased to welcome Andrew Colquhoun and Pamela Charlwood as fellow directors of OHPA. They both have distinguished career histories and will bring relevant blends of experience to the board. Their appointments mark an early milestone in the development of OHPA.”
