Alasdair Liddell

Alasdair Donald MacDuff Liddell CBE (15 January 1949 – 31 December 2012) was one of the architects of Britain's health strategy in the 1990s.^[1] As Director of Planning at the Department of Health (1994–2000), he led the process of setting national priorities for the National Health Service (NHS).^[2][3]

Alasdair Liddell CBE
Department of Health Director of Planning
Personal details
Born	Alasdair Donald MacDuff Liddell (1949-01-15)15 January 1949 Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland
Died	31 December 2012(2012-12-31) (aged 63) London, England
Spouse	Jenny Abramsky ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford

Education

Liddell was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh, and Balliol College, Oxford (1967–70). He moved from the voluntary sector to health management and as chief of the East Anglian Regional Health Authority he pioneered the Rubber Windmill, a simulation involving large numbers of clinicians, health managers, journalists and others over several days, which tested (and found wanting) the government's plans to introduce internal markets to the NHS. The Windmill was highly influential and led to changes in the government's approach. Liddell's simulation idea has since been used repeatedly to assess the impact of the market-based reforms, notably for the King's Fund in 2007.^[1][4]

Career

He resigned, reputedly over policy differences with ministers,^[1] and subsequently acted as an advisor to health charities like the King's Fund (where he was a Senior Associate) and to health sector companies and consultancies.^{[citation needed]} He was senior counsel to Bell Pottinger and was non-executive deputy chairman of Healthcare Locums plc, effectively taking executive responsibility in early 2011 when the company was found to have financial irregularities leading to the suspension of the company's chief executive Kate Bleasedale.^{[citation needed]}

He was promoted by Ken Jarrold to Director of Planning.^[2][5] As Director of Planning at the Department of Health Liddell had Board level responsibility for strategy, NHS information and IT, NHS Communications, and a number of key policy areas. After the 1997 election he led the team supporting Ministers in laying the foundations for much of current government policy for the NHS. He was awarded a CBE in the 1997 Birthday Honours for services to the NHS.^[6]

He died at age 63 of an aneurysm he suffered while visiting friends in London.^[4][6][7]

Family

Liddell married Jenny Abramsky in 1976. They had two children.^[4]

Works

• Co-authored the report Technology in the NHS: Transforming the patient's experience of care. 23 October 2008.^[8]
• Co-authored Windmill 2009: NHS response to the financial storm. 2009.^[9]

References

1. Joe Churcher (4 January 2013). "Ex-NHS policy chief Alasdair Liddell dies aged 63". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
2. Edwards, Brian; Fall, Margaret (2005). The Executive Years of the NHS: The England Account 1985-2003. Radcliffe Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85775-759-0.
3. Cooper, Liz (1995). Voices Off: Tackling the Democratic Deficit in Health. Institute for Public Policy Research. ISBN 978-1-86030-002-8.
4. Dickson, Niall (11 January 2013). "Alasdair Liddell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
5. Limited, Pearson Education (26 May 1999). Education Year Book 1999/2000. Pearson Education, Limited. ISBN 978-0-273-64158-2. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
6. Alasdair Liddell obituary, The Times, 11 January 2013.
7. "Alasdair LIDDELL Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
8. Liddell, Alasdair; Adshead, Stephen; Burgess, Ellen (23 October 2008). Technology in the NHS: Transforming the patient's experience of care. King's Fund. ISBN 978-1-85717-574-5. Retrieved 26 August 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
9. Harvey, Sarah; Liddell, Alasdair; McMahon, Laurie (2009). O’Neill, Kathryn (ed.). Windmill 2009: NHS response to the financial storm (PDF). London, United Kingdom: The King's Fund. ISBN 978-1-85717-588-2.