- New Chief will lead Defence Medical Command as it delivers
Strategic Defence Review commitments and £50m Defence Investment
Plan funding to ensure stronger medical readiness.
- Operational plans, life-saving technology and deeper NHS and
allied partnerships will help save more lives on future
operations.
One of the UK's most experienced clinical leaders has been
appointed to lead Defence medicine through a major transformation
and prepare military healthcare for the demands of future
operations.
Professor Jason Leitch CBE will take charge of Defence Medical
Command as it drives through the delivery of the Strategic
Defence Review and the Defence Investment Plan, both of which
place a renewed emphasis on closer collaboration with the health
services across the UK, academia, industry, NATO allies and
international partners.
He brings extensive experience in clinical leadership, health
policy and organisational transformation. As Scotland's National
Clinical Director from 2015 to 2024, Professor Leitch advised
ministers on health policy and patient safety, becoming a trusted
public voice during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also worked as
an independent healthcare adviser and leadership consultant in
the UK and internationally.
Professor Jason Leitch, who will formally take up the
post on Monday 2 November, said:
It is a real privilege to be joining Defence Medical Command. I
have spent my career improving healthcare and helping the people
who deliver it to do their best work, and I am excited to bring
that experience into Defence.
My first priority will be to listen and learn - understanding our
people, our patients and the operational needs of the Armed
Forces. I look forward to working across Defence and with our
partners to ensure Defence Medical is ready for whatever is asked
of it. Professor Leitch joins as Defence invests £50 million to
transform frontline medical care, bringing life-saving
technologies such as dried blood products and tranexamic acid
autoinjectors which resupply blood and reduce blood loss to the
battlefield, alongside modern field hospital equipment to care
for casualties.
General Sir Rob Magowan, Commander of Cyber &
Specialist Operations Command, said:
Jason's appointment marks an exciting new chapter for military
medicine. His proven leadership will be vital as we modernise
Defence healthcare and deliver the best possible care for those
who serve.
As Defence responds to growing and more complex threats, Defence
Medical will be central to ensuring our Armed Forces are ready
for the challenges ahead.
Surgeon General Major General Phil Carter, who has served
as Interim Chief of Defence Medical, since former Chief of
Defence Medical Air Marshal Clare Walton retired in July,
said:
Professor Leitch joins us with extensive experience of managing
health and healthcare and a strong record of leadership at the
very top of government. He will bring a fresh vision at an
important moment for the Defence Medical system, as we develop
our readiness to support warfighting.
I look forward to introducing him to the amazing work being done
by medics across Defence to sustain and promote health and
provide care on operations and to working with him to modernise
and optimise our model of care, keeping pace with the changing
demands on the battlefield, civilian healthcare, and the needs of
our patients.
Professor Leitch will lead Defence Medical as it continues to
draw on lessons from Ukraine including strengthening battlefield
trauma training, medical supply chains and the protection of
field hospitals, while exploring new medical technologies.
Following his start in November, Professor Leitch will visit
teams across Defence Medical, meeting its people and seeing their
work first-hand as he shapes his priorities.
Professor Jason Leitch CBE
biography
