Harkness Project Title: Measuring Quality in Mental Health Services
Mentors: Elizabeth McGlynn, Ph.D., and Kenneth Wells, M.D., M.P.H.
Placement: RAND Corporation
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Dominic Ford, a 2004-05 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is associate director of healthcare standards at Surrey and Borders Partnership, NHS Trust. Prior to this, he was the mental health strategy development manager at the Healthcare Commission, the health inspectorate: mental health policy lead and responsible for the development of methods for assessing mental health services and implementing programs of inspection. He carried out a similar role at the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) from 2002-04 and worked as a review manager at CHI in 2001–02. Before coming to CHI, Ford worked from 1998 to 2000 at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and one of its predecessor organizations, Lewisham and Guy's Mental Health NHS Trust, in equality and diversity, user involvement, clinical risk and Mental Health Act roles. He has served as chief officer of Redbridge Community Health Council, local health patients' advocate, from 1994 to 1998, and between 1989 and 1994 he worked in health authorities in London and Manchester in public health and commissioning roles. Ford read modern history at Oxford University from 1983 to 1986 and carried out post-graduate research in soviet history at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at Birmingham University from 1986 to 1988.
Project: Ford’s project examined how the quality of mental health care is being measured in the U.S., in which populations, and how that information is being reported and utilized. He undertook case studies at fourteen organizations, including the National Committee for Quality Assurance, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Veterans’ Healthcare Administration, United Behavioral Health, public mental health systems in Ohio and Texas, and Consumer Quality Initiatives Massachusetts.
Career Activity since Fellowship:
- Director of Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, 2012
- Associate Director Healthcare Standards - Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust, 2006
Current Position:
Director of Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary, Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust (Updated 1/ 2014)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Harkness-Related Publications
Ford D. "Counting Hoops: Measuring the Quality of Mental Health Services in the U.S." The Mental Health Review 2006; 11:15-20.