Jim is the Senior Responsible Owner for the Programme – he ensures the programme meets its financial and delivery objectives, manages the strategic risks and ensures the programme meets its purpose. Jim engages with regional and national bodies and other ICS partners to ensure all parties are sighted on progress and that the programme remains consistent with national direction.
Lisa is the CIPHA programme director and is responsible for the coordination, management and delivery of CIPHA to each partner ICS. Lisa works closely with Jim Hughes to ensure strategic objectives are met and risks are raised, managed and mitigated. Lisa works with each stakeholder and provides senior management input from CIPHA.
Jo Gilmore joined the CIPHA Expansion team in April 2021 and manages the PMO function of the programme.
Hannah joined the CIPHA expansion team in 2020 and is the team admin and P.A. for Jim Hughes.
Suzanne is the CIPHA Data Protection Officer and is responsible for the Data Sharing Agreement Tiered Framework and associated Data Protection Impact Assessments. The tiered approach provides a governance framework to standardise procedures and processes when sharing confidential personal information between partners safely, where there is a lawful basis to do so. Suzanne works closely with Jim Hughes to ensure that data is only accessible on a strictly controlled need-to-know basis.
The Liverpool pilot of open-access, community-based testing for the virus that causes Covid-19 has now tested over 160k people using the Innova lateral flow device across Cheshire and Merseyside – people who live or work in Liverpool – and the test has picked up over 1200 individuals who did not know they were carrying the virus. This lateral flow test detects around two thirds of substantially infectious people whereas the PCR tests pick up around four fifths of people who have the virus. Lateral flow gives a result in half an hour, whereas PCR takes one or two days to return the result – time when the person who is positive may still be spreading the virus. The lateral flow test costs around £4 whereas the PCR test is at least 10-20 times more expensive. So, the lateral flow test can be used to test more people more quickly. As our region now moves out of lockdown into fewer restrictions there is a greater chance of spreading the virus, especially in places like hairdressing salons where there is prolonged close contact between people. So the Liverpool pilot is moving from mass testing to a targeted approach focusing on high transmission risks (e.g. hairdressing salons) and high consequence settings (e.g. care home visitors). Combinations of lateral flow tests, PCR tests and further precautions (e.g. PPE) are being used in high consequence settings such as care homes to minimise the risk of false negative results or false reassurance from negative results. All of this work needs intelligence on what works and what doesn’t in a fast-moving pandemic. So, the testing strategy is now called SMART (Systematic Meaningful Asymptomatic Repeated Testing). CIPHA has been extremely valuable for the teams on the ground, and national policy-makers, to adapt their tactics and plans according to the data. Each week the CIPHA intelligence is used to tune local and national plans to gain as much Covid-19 risk mitigation as possible from the tests available. This intelligence-led strategy will save lives and livelihoods.
Gary Leeming , Director of the Liverpool City Region Civic Data Cooperative and Senior Data Manager for ISARIC4C, University of Liverpool
Professor Iain Buchan, Executive Dean, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool
Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health (DPH) for Liverpool , Liverpool City Council
Dr Andrew Hill, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust