Honorary Professor Jason Leitch | |
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| Born | Jason Andrew Leitch (1968-10-25)October 25, 1968 (age 57) Leicester,Leicestershire, England |
| Education | University of Glasgow (1991)Harvard University (2006) |
| Occupation | National Clinical Director for theScottish Government |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Dentistry |
| Field | Health care,dentistry,NHS Scotland |
Jason Andrew LeitchCBE FRCS (born 25 October 1968) is the National Clinical Director of Healthcare Quality and Strategy for theScottish Government.[1] He is a Senior Clinical Advisor to theScottish Government and a member of the Health and Social Care Management Board. Leitch was involved in theCOVID-19 pandemic response, where his duties included communicating complex scientific information to the public.[2][3]
Leitch was born on 25 October 1968, the elder of two children, to Jim and Irene Leitch. His mother was an office manager and his father was a coal miner, electrical engineer, and college educator. Leitch attended Airdrie Academy from 1980 to 1986.[3]
Leitch graduated in dentistry from theUniversity of Glasgow in 1991. He became a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at theRoyal College of Surgeons (England) in 1996. He has a doctorate from the University of Glasgow (2004), aMasters in Public Health fromHarvard University (2006) and is a fellow ofThe Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2004) and theRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2004). He is also a Fellow of theHigher Education Academy (2004). He was a 2005-06 Quality Improvement Fellow at theInstitute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), inBoston, sponsored by theHealth Foundation, he is now a Senior Fellow at the IHI.
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Leitch completed a number of training jobs in the West of Scotland prior to becoming a Clinical Lecturer and HonoraryConsultant inOral Surgery atGlasgow Dental Hospital and School.
Leitch has worked for theScottish Government since 2007 when he joined as the National Clinical Lead for Safety and Improvement. This was followed by roles as the National Clinical Lead for Quality; the Clinical Director of the Quality Unit and he is now the National Clinical Director in the Health and Social Care Directorate.
Leitch was part of the senior team who conceived, designed and led theScottish Patient Safety Programme.
Leitch is a member of the Health and Social Care Management Board and one of the senior team responsible for implementation of the NHS Scotland Quality Strategy.[4]
Leitch is responsible for quality in the health and social care system, including patient safety and person-centred care, NHS planning, and implementing quality improvement methods across the government and the broader public sector. He is a member of theTransformational Change as well as thePerformance Boards at the Scottish Government.
Throughout theCOVID-19 pandemic, Leitch has played a key role in public health communication and engagement.[3] He regularly featured at Scottish Government press conferences as well as public engagement on regional and national television and radio. He received praise for his ability to communicate complex scientific information to the public.[2] He regularly featured on programmes such asOff the Ball to answer questions submitted by members of the public.[5] In March 2020 he assessed that it was impossible to suppress the virus, that 80% of the population becoming infected was inevitable, and that all that could be done was to smooth the epidemic out over a lengthy period of time, so not to overwhelm the health services too much.[6][7]
2011: HFMA UK Clinician of the Year.[9]
2013: HonoraryProfessor at theUniversity of Dundee.
2019: Honorary Professor at theUniversity of Strathclyde.
2019:Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2019 Birthday Honours for services to healthcare and charity.[10]
2020: The Fletcher of Saltoun Award for Science.
2020: Member ofNational Academy of Medicine.
2022 Meritorious Endeavours in Environmental Health Award, The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.
Leitch has been invited to speak at events around the world and has advised Governments in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Republic of Ireland, Jordan, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.
He was appointed to theNHS England review group led byDon Berwick looking into the patient safety elements of the Francis Enquiry.
Leitch also serves as a College Ambassador for The College of General Dentistry.
In 1992, Leitch married Lynn, a secondary school teacher. His younger sister, Vanessa, is a senior lecturer in further education.[3]
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