Journal of IiME Volume 7 Issue 1 NHS Reforms: Implications for long term chronic conditions such as ME – for GPs and Patients (May 2013) Abstract Government NHS Reforms: Implications for long term chronic conditions such as ME – for GPs and Patients The Health and Social Care Act 2012 makes provisions for a number of changes to the English NHS – these changes became operational on 1 April 2013. Dr Clare Gerada, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, will present an overview of the NHS Reforms, and what changes in legislation mean in practice for GPs and their patients. Her talk will cover the structural changes, accountability, funding arrangements and commissioning. Dr Gerada will also outline the role of the Royal College of GPs, and ongoing work on long-term conditions. Dr Clare Gerada MBE MOM FRCP FRCGP Chair, Royal College of General Practitioners Dr Clare Gerada is a London-based GP and Chair of Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She is the first female Chair for over half a century. She has held a number of local and national leadership positions including Senior Medical Adviser to the Department of Health. She is Medical Director of the largest practitioner health programme in the country and she has published a number of academic papers, articles, books and chapters. Dr Gerada has been a GP since 1992, when she became a partner for the Hurley Clinic in South London. The practice started life in 1969 – and remains on its current site – on the ground floor of a 19-storey housing estate in Lambeth. Dr Gerada has a long involvement with the RCGP; she was previously Vice Chair of College Council and past Chair of the Ethics Committee. She established the RCGP’s groundbreaking Substance Misuse Unit and also led on the strategic and logistical delivery of the RCGP Annual National Conference. Prior to general practice, she worked in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in South London, specialising in substance misuse. She was awarded an MBE for services to medicine and substance misuse. In 2012 Dr Gerada was presented with the National Order of Merit award in Malta for distinguishing herself in the field of health. Current Knowledge of Immunological Biomarkers in ME Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik School of Medical Sciences, Griffith University, Australia Professor MarshallGradisnik is one of Australia's foremost researchers in the area of neuroimmunology and has been instrumental in establishing the Public Health and Neuroimmunology Unit (PHANU) at Bond University. Much of her work relates specifically to autoimmunity in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers and she is regularly asked to speak to community groups on behalf of Queensland Health and NSW Health. Her research in the area of exercise immunology has also contributed to the body of knowledge relating to the effect of doping in sport and she serves as Sports Medicine Australia's national spokesperson in this area. The vital research conducted by Professor Marshall has attracted more than $1 million in grant funding and she has produced 21 peer-reviewed papers, five Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) www.investinme.org Page 28 of 36
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