University News Last updated 17 February 2009
Chairman of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority and Regional NHS Chairman Elisabeth Buggins, CBE, will receive an honorary doctoral degree from Birmingham City University today (Tuesday 17th February).
Elisabeth's career in healthcare has spanned three decades and she will receive her award in recognition of her services to the National Health Service.
Throughout her career, Elisabeth has focused on supporting the design and delivery of better patient care by focussing attention on the insights and expressed needs and wishes of patients and carers.
Her career began in the voluntary sector, with which she is still involved as a trustee, whilst also being a freelance author, educator, facilitator and programme manager. She has worked with the voluntary sector on local, national and European projects that interface with Health Services, and ran a postgraduate module on Patient and Public Involvement at Warwick University. As an extension of this, Elisabeth assists boards and multi-agency partnerships to develop their strategic thinking and plans for change.
For more than five years Elisabeth chaired Walsall Community Health Trust, during which time she was West Midlands Regional Lead for the NHS Confederation. She has also chaired the national Communications Policy Committee
For eight years she was a Non-Executive Director on the National Blood Authority and NHS Blood and Transplant Authority. At the request of the Health Minister she set up and chaired the UK Organ Donation Taskforce, publishing two reports that have been accepted and implemented with the objective of saving or improving thousands of lives.
From 2002-06 Elisabeth was Chairman of Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic Health Authority and she became Chairman of West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) in 2006. She also chairs the National SHA Chairs' Group.
Elisabeth's award is due to be conferred at 2.30pm on Tuesday 17th February at the Awards Congregation ceremony in Symphony Hall which will celebrate the work and achievements of students graduating from the Faculty of Health.