Commissioning leader Dr Michael Dixon will step down as chair of the NHS Alliance in January.
Dr Dixon, who has held the role for 18 years, said it was time to hand over to a ‘younger’ GP – preferrably one that is leading on the new models of general practice.
The 63-year-old said there were several potential candidates in the pipeline whom NHS Alliance, a GP interest organisation, would shortly be considering.
Dr Dixon, who remains a practising GP partner in Cullompton, Devon, said he would not ‘vanish’ but would remain a vocal member of the organisation, as well as being a mentor to new GP leaders.
He said key targets to work towards would be to develop the new integrated care models, as well as reinstating general practice as an attractive career to medical students.
Announcing his departure, Dr Dixon also said that the NHS Alliance would continue to broaden its activities to include other health professionals as well as GPs.
He said: ’The health service of the future should be nimble and flex to local needs, based on principles of collaboration and integration, and be relationship rather than process driven. Over the past three years, NHS Alliance has itself reflected this direction, attracting a constituency that extends far beyond our roots in general practice.’
Dr Dixon has been an influential voice in UK general practice for two decades, with recent national roles including serving as a special advisor on practice-based commissioning to Lord Ara Darzi and sitting on the steering group of a King’s Fund inquiry into the future of general practice.
He is a member of the National Stakeholder Forum, sits on the National Steering Group and the National Strategy Group for Clinical Commissioning. He is also a member of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit National Advisory Group.
