Press Release: 2008 Annual Lecture

PRESS RELEASE
The Lunar Society 2008 Annual Lecture by Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, CMO
1800 on Wednesday 5th March at Birmingham Medical School.
 

The Lunar Society is proud to announce that their 2008 Annual Lecture, The Challenges facing Medicine in the 21st Century,  will be given by Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer. Sir Liam sees patient safety as "one of the greatest challenges" and "a vital and historically under-considered issue".
"When a patient is treated by a doctor, they do not expect that their care will be unsafe. The safety of patients is a vital and historically under-considered issue. Advances in technology, increasingly complex delivery of care, changes in working patterns and a growing awareness of the difficulty of ensuring patient safety make this one of the greatest challenges faced by all healthcare workers as we move into the 21st century."

As Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam holds important responsibilities across the whole field of health and health care in the United Kingdom. He is the Government's chief adviser on health issues, giving advice to the Secretary of State for Health, the Prime Minister, and other Government Ministers. He also represents the United Kingdom at international meetings including the World Health Organization.

Professor Deirdre Kelly, Chair of the Lunar Society, said: "We are honoured that Sir Liam is giving our prestigious Lecture this year. He is a leading figure in the NHS at a time when medicine and health service provision are undergoing unprecedented change."
 
Dean of Birmingham University Medical School, Professor Ian Booth, added that it was a privilege to co-host this event with the Lunar Society and said he was pleased to be welcoming Sir Liam back to the Medical School where he had done his early training.

Press and members of the audience will have the opportunity to meet and talk with Sir Liam and representatives from the regional Medical Schools of Birmingham, Keele and Warwick before the Lecture begins.
 
 
Further information can be obtained from Kate Cooper, Secretary to the Lunar Society on kate.cooper@lunarsociety.org.uk.
 
Further information for editors: 
The present-day Lunar Society provides a dynamic forum for its members to influence change through focusing and informing debate, linking social, economic, scientific and cultural thinking, and catalysing action on issues critical to the common good. Its prestigious series of Annual Lectures, begun in 2004, are part of a lively programme of events and meetings throughout the uyear..
The 2007 Lunar Society Annual Lecture was by Sir John Armitt, Chairman of Network Rail.
The 2006 Annual Lecture was by Sir John Lawton, Chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
The 2005 Annual Lecture was by the Nobel prize winner Sir Paul Nurse.
The 2004 (and first) Annual Lecture was by Professor Brian Allen, chairman of the National Art Collections Fund.
 
The Society's next public event is on 14 October at Town Hall, Birmingham when Lunarman Sir Michael Lyons will chair a panel debate between distinguished guests and the audience on the socio-economic impacts of climate change.
 
For further information about the Society, see: www.lunarsociety.org.uk
 
About Sir Liam Donaldson
Initially trained as a surgeon in Birmingham, Sir Liam went on to hold teaching and research posts at the University of Leicester where he spent some time in general practice. In 1986, he was appointed Regional Medical Officer and Regional Director of Public Health for the Northern Regional Health Authority. In 1994, he became Regional Director for the NHS Region of Northern and Yorkshire covering the health needs of 7 million people. Sir Liam has received many public honours: 12 honorary doctorates from British Universities, eight fellowships from medical royal colleges and faculties, the Gold Medal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Queen's Honorary Physician between 1996 and 1999. He was knighted in the 2002 New Year's Honours List.
 
For further information about the Chief Medical Officer, see: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmentLeaders/ChiefMedicalOfficer/index.htm