Practice Plus Group (PPG) has appointed Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Marcelle Michail as National Medical Director to its Secondary Care division, a role in which she will oversee medical excellence in hospitals and services from Derbyshire to Devon.
Dr Michail, who studied her first medical degree in Cairo, Egypt, has had a distinguished career as an anaesthetist, specialising in obstetrics.
For 20 years she practised at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, taking on roles including Clinical Director, Associate Medical Director and Deputy Chief Medical Officer. She took up the role of interim Chief Medical Officer in March 2020, supporting the hospital with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has been a Fellow of the East of England Senate, providing independent clinical advice and strategic leadership to health and care commissioners, assisting them to make the best decisions about healthcare for the communities they represent.
Dr Michail said: “I have been dually fortunate in my roles. As an anaesthetist you are very much used to working across disciplines and being a team player. You work away in the background but you step up and take control when necessary. My roles have also brought me into contact with primary, secondary and community healthcare providers as well as patient groups. This has given me a more rounded understanding of the patient pathway.
“I hope this experience will enable me to work with our PPG teams to ensure our services understand patients’ concerns and aims and – working together with our healthcare colleagues in the community – provide treatment that delivers the optimum results.”
Dr Michail took part in the Keogh Review in 2014, and between 2014 and 2016 she was an inspector on the new wave of Care Quality Commission inspections, providing clinical expertise to the team examining care provided by Trusts in five areas.
Managing Director of PPG’s Secondary Care division Andy Lunt said: “We are delighted that Dr Michail is joining us at such an exciting time for the group, with our ongoing investment in and development of our services and our expansion of our private patient offering.
“She is a highly skilled, flexible and dedicated clinical leader and I know our teams are excited to be working with her.”
