Charles Gutteridge will today begin his appointment as the UK's first national Clinical Director for Informatics.

Having previously worked as Medical Director and Caldicott Guardian at Barts and the London NHS Trust, he has now been appointed to provide a clinical perspective on how new technology should be introduced in the NHS under the National Programme for IT.

The role, which was previously overseen by Director General of IT Richard Granger, is now performed by four people within the Department of Health (DoH):
 - Christine Connelly, CIO
 - Tim Donohoe, Head of Programmes and Operations
 - Carol Clarke, Head of Resources, Services and Governance, and
 - Charles Gutteridge, Clinical Director for Informatics

Charles describes his role as encouraging "dialogue between clinical staff, patients and informatics providers," adding, "My colleagues know that good, accessible information enormously raises the quality of treatment and diagnosis we can provide to the public."

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