Sr Hutchinson Allen (Reino Unido )

Perfil :

• Allen Hutchinson qualified in medicine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1970. Following a 3 year vocational training programme in general practice he joined a busy mining town practice in Ashington in the North of England in 1974. He developed an interest in primary care health services research and in the 1980´s combined general practice with a university post in Newcastle, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1986.

  In 1993 he was appointed to the Chair of Public Health at the University of Hull, a post he combined with being Director of Public Health for a population of 600,000 people in East Yorkshire. He was appointed Professor of Clinical Public Health at the University of Sheffield in 1997 and Deputy Dean of ScHARR in 1999.

  His research and teaching interests centre on patient safety and effective clinical practice. Following an extended visit to the USA to review work on safety and error, there is now a local network of researchers interested in research into the causes of patient safety incidents and their solution. A number of projects have received funding and many of these have international research partners. Topics include medication safety, methods for assessing quality from hospital records and using multiple research methods to investigate safety in care pathways. Research, teaching and professional development on patient safety and effective practice are combined together in a number of initiatives. For instance, patient safety concepts and practical guidance is now being taught to medical undergraduates in Sheffield, a South Yorkshire Safety Coalition has been established and contributions are being made to local and national conferences.