Mark Britnell

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Mark Douglas Britnell (born 5 January 1966) [1] is an expert on healthcare systems and has worked extensively with organizations around the world. [2]

Contents

He is a professor at the Global Business School for Health at UCL [3] and Adjunct Professor at the Sandra Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. [4]

He has also written two books, 'In Search of the Perfect Health System' (Palgrave Macmillan) [5] and 'Human: solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare' (Oxford University Press). [6]

In September 2024 he became Chair of Health Innovation Manchester. [7]

He was a senior partner at the professional services firm KPMG and worked as a healthcare expert. He was the chairman and senior partner for healthcare, government and infrastructure at KPMG International until September 2020. [8] He was then appointed as Vice-Chairman of KPMG UK with a focus on healthcare, a role he held until December 2022. [9]

Prior to working for KPMG he worked in a number of roles for the NHS including as director-general at the Department of Health and a member of the management board of the National Health Service (NHS) in England (July 2007–September 2009), as well as chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and the South Central Strategic Health Authority.

In 2021 Britnell along with Tom Riordan was shortlisted for the role of NHS England Chief Executive, before the role being awarded to Amanda Pritchard. [10]

Education

Britnell grew up in Chester where he attended the local comprehensive. [11] Having studied history at the University of Warwick, he joined the fast-track NHS Management Training Scheme in 1989, receiving his post-graduate education at Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick. [12]

Career

His early career included various management posts in the NHS, a spell with the Australian health service, a year in the civil service fast stream during which he was sponsored by the Australian College of Health Service Executives to work in Melbourne and Sydney before being seconded to the NHS Executive in 1992. Britnell joined St Mary's Hospital in London as a General Manager before being appointed as a Director at Central Middlesex Hospital (now part of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust) in 1995, when he was named Project Director for an Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic (ACAD) Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme - the first of its kind in the UK. [13] He became chief executive at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. [12] having been chief operating officer there, and led the organization from 1998 to 2006. It became an NHS Foundation Trust in the so-called 'first wave', and a PFI hospital rebuild, including a Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in partnership with the Ministry of Defence. [14] In 2006 he was appointed as chief executive of the NHS South Central strategic health authority (covering the area from Oxford to the Isle of Wight). He was Director-General for Commissioning and System Management for the National Health Service (NHS) of England (July 2007-September 2009). [15]

During this time Britnell was the architect of the World Class Commissioning policy, the creation of the Cooperation and Competition Panel and reforms to primary care, patient and public engagement, integrated care and community services. [16] [17]

Britnell commented "I wanted to create something which had the discipline and rigour of the foundation [trust] assessment exercise and the stretch that gave people the ambition to raise their sights [...] we defined these 11 competencies—which I do not think anybody really disagreed with. It might strike you as slightly odd—it did me coming into the department—that no-one had defined what good commissioning was in 20 or 30 years." [18]

In 2009, he joined KPMG as head of health for the UK and Europe, [19] becoming global chairman for health in 2010 and global chairman and senior partner for healthcare, government and infrastructure in 2018. [20] He reports that in these roles he has travelled to 80 countries [21] He was a senior partner at the professional services firm KPMG and is a global healthcare expert. He finished these roles in September 2020. He was then appointed as Vice-Chairman of KPMG UK with a focus on healthcare, a role he held until December 2022. [7]

In 2021 Britnell along with Tom Riordan was shortlisted for the role of NHS Chief Executive, before the role being awarded to Amanda Pritchard. Other candidates that were ruled out earlier in the process including Conservative peer Baroness Dido Harding and Sir James Mackey, chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust. [22] [23]

In 2023 Britnell became a Professor at the Global Business School for Health at UCL [3] and an Adjunct Professor at the Sandra Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. [4]

In 2024 Britnell became Chair of Health Innovation Manchester. [24] [25]

Books

In October 2015, Britnell wrote 'In Search of the Perfect Health System', [26] an analysis of health systems around the world and seven key trends facing healthcare globally. Britnell provides 25 concise sketches about national healthcare systems, which form the core of the book [27]

Models from countries like the UK, the US, Singapore, and others, are assessed offering a comparative analysis of what works and what doesn't in providing effective, sustainable, and equitable healthcare.

However, the book goes beyond just identifying problems—it also suggests solutions and offers insights into how healthcare systems can be improved. Britnell emphasizes the importance of learning from successful models while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. His goal is to provide policymakers, healthcare leaders, and readers with a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of healthcare systems and practical guidance on how to achieve better health outcomes for populations. [28]

It won the health and social care category in the British Medical Association's Medical Book Awards 2016 [29] and Best Health Book in China in 2017 from the Chinese Medical Doctors Association. [30]

In March 2019 he wrote 'Human: solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare'. [31] It is a response to the warning from the World Health Organization that by 2030 there will be a global shortage of around 18 million healthcare workers – about a fifth of the required workforce. [32] The forward to the book was written by Lord Nigel Crisp and he said "This is a timely and optimistic book which should be a guide to politicians and practitioners alike." [33]

In the book Britnell focuses on the pressing challenges faced by the global healthcare workforce. Britnell examines the widespread shortages of healthcare professionals, the impact these shortages have on patient care, and the sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide. He argues that these workforce challenges are critical to the future of healthcare and presents potential solutions for addressing the crisis.

Britnell draws on his experience in economics, management, Human Resources (HR), organisational strategy, health systems science, public sector and corporate leadership to create a rich picture of health workforce challenges in context. [34]

Britnell explores how countries and organizations can better manage, train, and support healthcare workers. The book also highlights innovative models and approaches to workforce development, including the use of technology, new ways of organizing care, and collaboration across borders. Ultimately, Human is a call to action for policymakers, healthcare leaders, and others to work together to ensure a capable and resilient healthcare workforce in the face of growing global demands. [35]

Royalties of his books are said to go to the charity Prostate Cancer UK. [36]

Other activities

Via KPMG he was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of the Health Sector for four years. [37] He is a Trustee of the King's Fund. [38] He has honorary degrees from Birmingham City University and University of Wolverhampton, and an honorary professorship at Taishan Medical University School in China. [39] He also sits on the advisory board of the China Center for Health Development at Peking University. He was a Trustee of the cancer charity Prostate Cancer UK, having been diagnosed and treated for the disease in 2008. He has often praised the NHS for saving his life. [40]

US Conference 2010

In 2010, while describing British health reforms to an audience of global healthcare executives in the US, it was reported in The Observer that Britnell said:

"In future, The NHS will be a state insurance provider not a state deliverer", and that "The NHS will be shown no mercy and the best time to take advantage of this will be in the next couple of years." [12]

KPMG issued a press statement on behalf of Britnell on 16 May 2011 which refuted the accuracy of the quotations stating

"The article in The Observer attributes quotes to me that do not properly reflect discussions held at a private conference last October. Nor was I given the opportunity to respond ahead of publication. I worked in the NHS for twenty years and now work alongside it. I have always been a passionate advocate of the NHS and believe that it has a great future. Like many other countries throughout the world, the pressure facing healthcare funding and provision are enormous. If the NHS is to change and modernise the public, private and voluntary sectors will all need to play their part." [41]

The Health Service Journal website published a longer statement from Britnell on 17 May. In it he is quoted as saying "“The vast majority” of NHS care will “always and quite rightly” be provided by “public sector organisations and paid for out of taxation." [42]

Commenting on the UK health service in an article for the Guardian Health Network, Britnell said "I'm proud to have worked for the NHS, with its great people, and now feel privileged to be able to work on health systems internationally." [43]

Publications

References

  1. General Register Office (5 January 1966). "Mark Douglas Britnell" (Document). United Kingdom: General Register Office for England and Wales. p. 296. vol. 10A
  2. The Kings Fund https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/about-us/our-people/professor-mark-britnell#:~:text=He%20is%20one%20of%20the,having%20led%20organisations%20at%20local%2C&text=Mark%20is%20the%20author%20of,global%20workforce%20crisis%20in%20healthcare.
  3. 1 2 UCL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/global-business-school-health/news/2023/mar/mark-britnell-joins-ucls-global-business-school-health
  4. 1 2 Rotman University of Toronto https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/the-rotman-experience/our-community/people/britnell-mark-/
  5. Britnell, Mark (14 September 2015). In Search of the Perfect Health System. Macmillan Education UK. ISBN   978-1-137-49661-4.
  6. Britnell, Mark (18 March 2019). Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-883652-0.
  7. 1 2 Manchester University NHS Foundation https://mft.nhs.uk/2024/05/01/global-healthcare-leader-prof-mark-britnell-to-join-health-innovation-manchester-as-chair/
  8. "Mark Britnell - Global Chairman and Senior Partner". KPMG in the UK. 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019.
  9. https://mft.nhs.uk/2024/05/01/global-healthcare-leader-prof-mark-britnell-to-join-health-innovation-manchester-as-chair/
  10. Discombe, Matt (28 July 2021). "Amanda Pritchard appointed as NHS England chief executive". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  11. The Royal Society of Medicine https://www.rsm.ac.uk/latest-news/2021/visionary-conversations-at-the-rsm/
  12. 1 2 3 Boffey, Daniel; Helm, Toby (14 May 2011). "David Cameron's adviser says health reform is a chance to make big profits". The Observer .
  13. "Mark Britnell". Department of Health. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
  14. Britnell, Mark (28 January 2013). "We must sell healthcare to the whole world". The Times .
  15. "Director General for Commissioning & System Management at the Department of Health". The Kings Fund. 14 October 2005. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  16. Britnell M. Mark Britnell on World Class Commissioning. Health Serv J. 2007 Nov 1;117(6080):suppl 13. PMID: 18161278. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18161278/
  17. Smith, Judith; Holder, Holly; Edwards, Nigel; et al. (July 2013). "European Health Summit 2013: What is the future for primary care in Europe?" (PDF). Nuffield Trust.
  18. HOW THE GOVERNMENT HAS RESPONDED TO WEAKNESSES IN COMMISSIONING - World Class Commissioning https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmhealth/268/26809.htm
  19. Vize, Richard (11 June 2009). "Mark Britnell quits NHS for private sector". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  20. "Mark Britnell - KPMG Canada". KPMG. 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  21. "Dr Mark Britnell". The King's Fund. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  22. Toynbee, Polly (9 July 2021). "The NHS bill is political dynamite – and a gift to Labour". The Guardian . Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  23. Discombe, Matt. "Amanda Pritchard appointed as NHS England chief executive". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  24. https://healthinnovationmanchester.com/our-board/
  25. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust https://mft.nhs.uk/2024/05/01/global-healthcare-leader-prof-mark-britnell-to-join-health-innovation-manchester-as-chair/
  26. Britnell, Mark (14 September 2015). In Search of the Perfect Health System. Macmillan Education UK. ISBN   978-1-137-49661-4.
  27. Pym, Michael Jeffrey. / Book Review: In Search of the Perfect Health System by Mark Britnell. In: LSE Review of Books. 2016 https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/book-review-in-search-of-the-perfect-health-system-by-mark-britne
  28. Hira Rashid , “Review of In Search of the Perfect Health System by Mark Britnell”, https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/4174
  29. Bloomsbury Publishing: Winner of the first prize in the Health and Social Care category at the BMA Medical Book Awards 2016. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/in-search-of-the-perfect-health-system-9781137496614/
  30. Vize, Richard (24 February 2017). "How can health services keep pace with the rapid growth of cities?". The Guardian .
  31. Britnell, Mark (18 March 2019). Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-883652-0.
  32. Liu, Jenny X.; Goryakin, Yevgeniy; Maeda, Akiko; Bruckner, Tim; Scheffler, Richard (3 February 2017). "Global Health Workforce Labor Market Projections for 2030". Human Resources for Health. 15 (1): 11. doi: 10.1186/s12960-017-0187-2 . ISSN   1478-4491. PMC   5291995 . PMID   28159017.
  33. From forward of Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare (2019) https://academic.oup.com/book/35326/chapter-abstract/299991038?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  34. Pagliari, C & Tursunbayeva, A 2019, 'Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare', Management Learning, pp. 104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507619852192
  35. Pagliari, C & Tursunbayeva, A 2019, 'Human: Solving the global workforce crisis in healthcare', Management Learning, pp. 104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507619852192
  36. "Mark Britnell - KPMG Global". KPMG. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  37. Mark Britnell invited to join WEF Global Agenda Council, KPMG, 6 October 2014
  38. "Who's who". The King's Fund. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  39. Debrett's: Mark Britnell Debretts.com
  40. "'Extended hours saved my life,' says DoH czar | GPonline". gponline.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  41. https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/media/press-releases.html
  42. McLellan, Alastair (17 May 2011) "Britnell responds to 'privatisation' storm" Health Service Journal
  43. Britnell, Mark (30 March 2012). "A day in the life of … Mark Britnell, head of healthcare, KPMG". The Guardian .