Tim Rycroft has been appointed Chief Information Officer at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Tim joins the organisation from Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, following seven years as head of information technology (IT) and Information Governance (IG). He will take up his new Care Trust role early March 2018.

Tim brings considerable information management and technology (IM&T) experience to the new role, both within the NHS and national policing agencies. He will be a non-voting member of the Trust Board.

During his time at Airedale, Tim managed the pilots and early implementation of the multi-agency telemedicine service for people with long term conditions. This was developed further by the ‘Airedale Hub’ that achieved national award recognition for its innovative work in supporting care homes.

Tim also initiated the delivery of a single and shared electronic patient record to enable more joined-up care across GP and hospital settings. More recently he designed and implemented a new joint IG service across Airedale and Bradford Teaching Hospitals to support the delivery of integrated care across local communities.

Before joining Airedale, Tim was head of technology business solutions at the National Policing Improvements Agency where he led the IT delivery for a new state-of-the-art £12 million forensic training centre and introduced a range of innovative technologies to support operational learning.

Nicola Lees, chief executive of Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re delighted that Tim will be joining the organisation, bringing a strong track record of digital innovation to improve service delivery. Healthcare informatics is a crucial enabler to supporting the Trust’s aim of providing outstanding services, working with our partners to deliver seamless, high quality care. The appointment of an IM&T specialist at Board level is key to delivering this ambition.”

Commenting on his appointment, Tim Rycroft said: “I am very happy to be joining the Care Trust that has a well-established record of digital innovation and delivery. I am very much looking forward to building on these achievements with the ambition of taking the organisation to the next level of digital maturity. I’m also look forward to engaging with all the staff groups, in order to understand how information and technology can help enhance the great work that the Care Trust does. One of my other immediate priorities will be to focus on the delivery of the new mental health electronic patient record which will set the foundations for future service improvements and wider integration and collaboration, and to ensure that the delivery of outstanding services continues.”