THE North West Ambulance Service has confirmed the appointment of Professor Rod Thomson as associate non-executive director for the trust.

Professor Thomson retired from his role as director of public health for Shropshire in April 2019 after 40 years of service to the NHS and local government.

He began his career as a psychiatric nurse working in Glasgow and later qualified as a health visitor.

Rod’s health visiting role included working with the homeless, substance misusers and victims of abuse. Moving to the north west in 1990, he took on a locality manager role in Cheshire and was also the clinical lead for child protection. He was later seconded to Merseyside and then north west regional health authority to lead programmes of work regarding child protection and public health.

Northwich Guardian:

Prof. Rod Thomson

Between 1996 and 2010 Rod held a range of senior public health roles in Liverpool and Sefton. During this time, he was instrumental in developing the north west public health observatory at Liverpool John Moores University. In 2010 he was appointed as director of public health for Shropshire.

Professor Thomson is also a member of the European Commission’s Independent Panel of Health Experts and was made Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in recognition of his 'exceptional contribution to the art and science of nursing' in 2002. He is also a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and is a visiting professor at John Moores, Chester and Staffordshire Universities.

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Outside of his professional roles, Rod is a qualified England hockey umpire and technical official with British Triathlon. He was a games maker at the 2012 Olympics and has held volunteering roles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as World and European Sports Championships including the recent Cricket World Cup.

Chairman for North West Ambulance Service, Peter White said: “Rod has had a varied and successful career and we very pleased to welcome him to the trust. His clinical experience will bring valuable expertise to our board of directors.”

Prof Thomson has been appointed from September 1, 2019 until August 31, 2021 and is entitled to receive a remuneration of £6,157 per annum.