The DoH said Sir Bruce would take on the role of championing clinical engagement throughout the service and lead the work of the national clinical directors, or 'tsars', as part of the NHS Leadership Team. He will also act as a deputy chief medical officer.
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: ‘Bruce will be an integral part of the department's world class clinical leadership team and I look forward to working with him on key priorities such as patient safety and the quality of health services.’
Sir Bruce worked as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Hammersmith Hospital in London and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he was associate medical director for clinical governance and the cardiac surgical service lead.
He later became Professor of Cardiac Surgery at University College London and Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Heart Hospital.
He is president of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery of Great Britain and Ireland, president of the Cardiothoracic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and international director of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (USA).
Sir Bruce is also secretary general of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery and was knighted in 2003 for services to medicine.
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