12 March 2024
We're delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Gavin Cleary and Dr Flora McErlane as National Paediatric Rheumatology Clinical Lead (job share) for the Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) review in paediatric and adolescent rheumatology.
GIRFT is a national programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.
The programme undertakes clinically-led reviews of specialties, combining wide-ranging data analysis with the input and professional knowledge of senior clinicians to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved.
Flora and Gavin will be known to many as visible and active members of BSR and the paediatric rheumatology community. They are experienced and adept at job sharing having taken up joint-leadership of the BSR JIA Learn quality improvement collaborative (co-sponsored by GIRFT) and have proved a highly effective and dynamic duo.
Flora and Gavin instigated the JIA Learn programme following their CAPTURE-JIA project. Each is committed to improving the quality and availability of data across paediatric rheumatology and is deeply invested in improving the quality of care for children and young people.
Their first role for GIRFT will be to interview and appoint four specialty advisers representing multi-disciplinary professionals working in paediatric and adolescent rheumatology.
Reacting to their appointment, Flora and Gavin said:
"We are delighted with our appointment as co-clinical leads for the Paediatric Rheumatology GIRFT programme. JIA Learn has highlighted widespread enthusiasm across our community to work together towards improved clinical care.
The GIRFT programme is a fantastic opportunity to implement a data-driven approach to exploring variation and improving care and outcomes for inflammatory and non-inflammatory Paediatric Rheumatology patients living across England."
Celebrating the news, our Vice-President for Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology, Dr Jacqui Clinch said:
"I am delighted that Flora and Gavin are co-leading the Paediatric Rheumatology GIRFT.
This is a fantastic opportunity for us to meaningfully understand and further develop gold standard and equitable services for all young people with inflammatory or non-inflammatory rheumatological conditions."