McGimpsey welcomes review of UK response to swine flu

A strategic and independent review of the UK response to swine flu has been announced today.

Dame Deirdre Hine will chair the independent review to examine the pandemic response across all four UK nations. Dame Deirdre will report to Ministers with recommendations before summer recess in any of the four nations of the UK.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said: "I welcome the appointment of Dame Deirdre Hine as Chair of an independent review of the UK’s response to the 2009 H1NI swine flu pandemic.

"As part of the normal procedure following a major emergency response, the review will consider the effectiveness of the UK response to the 2009 pandemic and make recommendations to inform planning for any future pandemic."

The Minister continued: "I would like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to all those who were involved in the response, especially our GPs and health and social care staff who have dealt with the many patients and families affected. I would also like to express my sympathies to those families who have lost loved ones."

Having planned for the event of a pandemic for a number of years, the UK was widely recognised as one of the most prepared countries in the world. Although swine flu continues to be present in the UK, it is at the lowest level since the disease first appeared. It is now an appropriate time to begin this independent review, which will be crucial in examining how the UK responded.

The review team will conduct a strategic review of all the key elements of the response including interviews with key individuals involved. However, it will be for Dame Deirdre to determine precisely how she wishes to proceed.

Globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that there have been at least 16,813 deaths from swine flu. There have been 457 reported and confirmed swine flu related deaths across the UK to-date and 18 of these have been in Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors:

1. The review has been jointly commissioned by all four UK administrations, and will provide recommendations to the Government before summer recess in any of the four nations of the UK.

2. The Chair will start work immediately. The Review Team will be situated within the Cabinet Office, which will lead the review with the full cooperation of all the UK Health Departments.

3. Dame Deirdre Hine DBE FFPHM FRCP – Biography

Deirdre Hine qualified in medicine at the then Welsh National School of Medicine in 1961. After experience in hospital medicine and general practice she trained in Public Health Medicine and was appointed to a consultant post with South Glamorgan Health Authority in 1974. She has had a varied career in both academic and NHS practice.

She established the much applauded Welsh Breast Cancer Screening Service, Breast Test Wales, before becoming Chief Medical Officer at the Welsh Office from 1990 to 1997. She is known widely for her co-publication with Sir Kenneth Calman of the seminal Report on Cancer Services which bears their names.

She was awarded the DBE for Services to Medicine in 1997. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, of the Faculty of Public Health, of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and an Honorary Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. She is the recipient of Honorary MDs of the University of Wales and the University of Sheffield and of numerous other honorary degrees and fellowships.

After retirement as Chief Medical Officer she served as a member of the Audit Commission from 1997 to 1999, was elected President of the Royal Society of Medicine from 2000 to 2002, and was appointed to Chair the Commission for Health Improvement from 1999 until April 2004. She was an Independent Member of the House of Lords Appointment Commission from 2000 to 2005, was elected President of the BMA 2005-6 and was Chairman of the Royal Society of Medicine Press Board 2004-2008. She served from 2003-2005 as a member of the adjudication panel for the Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine a prestigious International Prize of one million US dollars awarded annually by the Shaw Foundation of Hong Kong.

In 2004, at the request of the Northern Ireland DHSSPS, she chaired the Inquiry into the Decontamination of Endoscopes in hospitals throughout Northern Ireland

She is currently President of the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund, Chairman of the BUPA Foundation, Chairman of the IT Working party of the BMA, a Non-Executive Director of Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, a Vice - President of Marie Curie Cancer Care and of the British Lung Foundation, a member of the Ethics Committee of Dr Foster and of the Board of the Pfizer UK Foundation. In addition Dame Deirdre is currently chairing a public inquiry into an outbreak of Clostridium difficile which occurred in a group of hospitals in Northern Ireland in 2007/08. The inquiry has two purposes: to ascertain how many people died as a result of the outbreak, and to examine the experiences of those who were affected by the outbreak

She is married to Dr Raymond Hine, a retired academic physicist, and has two sons and five grandchildren.

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