Dr Catherine Bell and Dr David Heymann are to join the departmental board of the UK’s Department of Health (DH) as non-executive board members.
Dr Heymann, who has previously worked for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), is currently chair of the Health Protection Agency (HPA), an independent body in the UK set up in 2003 to provide advice and information to the public and healthcare professionals about infectious diseases and environmental hazards.
As announced in October 2010, the HPA is one of 11 DH-related bodies to be abolished by the coalition government as part of efforts to reform the way public services are managed.
With his appointment lasting until April 2012, Heymann will support the transfer of the agency’s functions to the DH with plans to incorporate its services into Public Health England – a dedicated public health service proposed in the Health and Social Care Bill.
Dr Bell, whose previous roles in Whitehall include being permanent secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, is governor of the London School of Economics and chair of the Investment Committee of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund.
Both Dr Bell and Dr Heymann will help the DH oversee health reforms in England, with board duties including providing advice to ministers on the strategy and objectives for the health and social care system; setting DH standards and establishing frameworks for governance and management of risk.
Current board members include chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, and Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS.