Dr Christopher McNamara

Transparency under the CMA Order 2014

 

All private healthcare operators are required under the Competition and Markets Authority Order 2014 (“The CMA Order”) to be transparent about the relationship between their doctor and the private healthcare operator. Therefore, prospective patients should be aware that (in addition to being permitted to consult with and to treat patients at our facilities) this doctor also has an advisory role with HCA UK and is paid by HCA UK for this advisory role. We describe the nature of the role below, and we indicate how much the doctor has been paid for performing the role since 1 January 2023

 

Dr McNamara is Medical Governance Lead for HCA at University College Hospital.

 

Medical Governance Leads are esteemed medical practitioners who know the relevant hospital well. They advise the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer on matters relating to medical governance at the hospital as the need arises. They support the work of the facility’s Medical Director.

 

Because of the breadth of the role and the unique specialisms and practices of each HCA hospital, it is not possible to describe neatly all the functions of a Medical Governance Lead, but they typically include the following: ensuring timely and accurate reporting of events and routine statistics to the hospital’s clinical governance boards and committees; advising on the development of new clinical policies and reviewing existing policies; reviewing the performance of other doctors at the hospital as part of the regular process of renewing practising privileges; providing an independent view on treatment outcomes by doctors including establishing a comprehensive audit of treatment outcomes; and championing clinical audit activities ensuring that outcomes are properly applied and linked to evaluation of services and service improvement.

 

Dr McNamara also provides medical advisory services for HCA's The Princess Grace Hospital in promoting excellence in leukaemia treatment. In this role, he leads interactions with hospital medical staff and the hospital leadership team to assist the hospital by providing medical advice and promoting high quality, cost effective care.

 

He contributes to the strategy, policies and decision making regarding leukaemia services and advises HCA to ensure that care provided within the facility is appropriate and efficient. He advises on initiatives to drive clinical standards by providing professional advice on clinical governance matters and ensuring the adoption of those by colleagues in the leukaemia services area.

 

In addition, he works with medical insurance companies, GPs, other relevant local NHS contacts, and patients to educate and advise on relevant clinical updates to treatments in leukaemia services available in the facility.

 

This doctor provides expertise and advice to HCA, including on how to operate safe hospital facilities delivering complex care. In 2023 the total paid to Dr McNamara for his Advisory services was £106,685.

 

If a doctor provides HCA UK with medical advisory services and also practises in the NHS, HCA UK requires that doctor to attest that he/she is not compromising his/her NHS commitments in so doing.