One of the UK’s most senior GPs is to lead a trust that has pioneered integration of primary and secondary care, it has been announced.

Professor Steve Field is about the leave his job as England’s chief practice inspector with the Care Quality Commission. He will now become chair of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, which has already taken over the running of eight practices in its area.

Professor Field, who practised as a GP in Birmingham until 2017, may be pitted to recruit practices against his former partners in the expanding Modality group, which has already taken over practices in the Walsall area.
Professor Field is also a former chair of the Royal College of GPs and holds academic appointments at the universities of Birmingham and Warwick.

He said: “I am looking forward to supporting The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to continue on their journey and I will work closely with partner organisations across the area to ensure the population of Wolverhampton and the Black Country receive the best possible integrated healthcare.”

The trust chief executive David Loughton said: “Steve has a wealth of experience in numerous high profile roles at a regional and national level; he will be a tremendous asset in the development of the Black Country Strategic Transformation Programme.”