After 9 years as Chief Medical Officer, DBE FRS
FMedSci has now been appointed by the Queen as Master
of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Appointed in 2010, Dame Sally was the first female
Chief Medical Officer. She worked in the NHS as a
consultant haematologist for 30 years and was the first
UK medical practitioner to specialise in sickle cell
disease, before joining the Civil Service in 2004.
Dame Sally became Director General of Research and
Development for the NHS, created the National Institute
for Health Research (NIHR), and later played a central
role in the establishment of Genomics England.
She is best known for successfully paving the way for
international and domestic efforts in the fight against
antimicrobial resistance, and leading the UK
government’s response to health emergencies including
Ebola, pandemic flu, and the Novichok attacks. Dame
Sally will step down as Chief Medical Officer at the
end of September and will move into her new position in
October 2019.
said:
I want to pay tribute to the outstanding clinicians,
scientists and public servants who have supported me
in this role – men and women who are working
tirelessly to improve the health of the nation.
It has been an honour to be the first female Chief
Medical Officer. I have enjoyed it from the start,
and I will continue to do so right up until I finish.
I am delighted to be appointed as Master of Trinity
College following a distinguished list of
predecessors and as the first woman.
I can assure everyone that I will continue
contributing to the global fight against AMR from my
new role.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Sally Davies has been a dedicated public servant and
a driving force for improving the health of the
nation. She has led the fight against antibiotic
resistance and public health risks, and has pioneered
world-leading action across a whole range of areas.
She’s been not just England’s CMO but led thinking
around the world. Sally has been an inspiration
to us all and I’m sure has a huge amount still to
contribute in the future.
Sir , Permanent
Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care,
said:
Dame Sally is a true global leader on health. Whether
advising on anti-microbial resistance, Ebola,
pandemic flu, the Novichok poisonings, or how to keep
our nation healthy, she has consistently and expertly
demonstrated her world-renowned intelligence,
experience, and commitment to the cause.
I am delighted that Dame Sally will now be taking up
such a prestigious position and I cannot thank her
enough for the outstanding contribution she has made
during her tenure as Chief Medical Officer.
Cabinet Secretary Sir said:
Sally Davies has made an exceptional contribution to
public service as the first female Chief Medical
Officer guiding us through many public health
challenges. Her historic contribution to tackling the
global challenge of antimicrobial resistance will
earn her the gratitude of people across the world for
generations to come. I wish her well in her new role
at Trinity College. They are lucky to have her.
An external recruitment process will launch shortly.
Dame Sally’s key achievements include:
-
work on antimicrobial resistance – after
successfully raising the international profile of
AMR, Dame Sally continued to campaign on AMR,
resulting in a United Nations Resolution in 2016.
She subsequently became a co-convenor of the United
Nations Interagency Group on AMR and helped
establish the £265m Fleming Fund to develop
laboratories and surveillance for AMR across the
world
-
leading the UK government’s response to health
emergencies – this includes Ebola in West Africa
from 2013 to 2015, Ebola in the Democratic Republic
of Congo in 2018, Zika, Wave 3 of the flu pandemic
in 2010, and the Novichok attack in 2018
-
World Health Organization (WHO) work – Dame Sally
chaired the External Reference Group for the WHO’s
first Research Strategy. This support was
recognised by the WHO, as she was appointed to the
WHO Kobe Centre Science Advisory Board in 2014. She
chaired and led the WHO AMR Strategic Technical
Advisory Group (STAG) for 4 years, at the request
of the then director-general of the WHO
-
health guidance – Dame Sally updated the UK Chief
Medical Officers’ low-risk alcohol guidelines,
physical activity guidelines and produced advice
for parents on social media and screen use. At the
request of the Home Secretary, Dame Sally reviewed
the evidence on cannabis and her report paved the
way for the introduction of the controlled use of
medicinal cannabis
-
establishing the National Institute for Health
Research (NIHR) – in 2006, Dame Sally established
and ran the NIHR, successfully putting in place
programs to effectively spend over £1 billion
annually and make the UK a world leader in clinical
research once again
