Dame Jennifer Dixon | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Chief Executive of The Health Foundation |
Dame Jennifer Dixon DBE FRCP FFPH is the chief executive of the Health Foundation, a large independent charity in the United Kingdom.[1][2] Her work has been recognised by several national and international bodies for her significant impact in driving national health policy making.
Dixon holds a degree in medicine from the University of Bristol, and a Master’s in public health and a PhD in health services research both from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dixon trained and practiced in paediatric medicine before moving into health policy in 1989.[3][4][2] Dixon was awarded a Harkness Fellowship in health policy in 1990, spending a year in New York City.[5] She was policy advisor to the Chief Executive of the National Health Service between 1998 and 2000,[6] Director of Policy at the King's Fund until 2008,[7][1] where she led the development of the nationally adopted Patients at Risk of Re-hospitalisation (PARR) tool for primary care.[8][9] Dixon was then Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust from 2008 to 2013.[10][11] In 2013 she became Chief Executive of the Health Foundation. Under her leadership, the Health Foundation contributed to a decision by the UK Government to invest an additional £20 billion in the National Health Service (NHS) in 2018[12] and is publishing on the first of its kind Young People's Future Health Inquiry in 2019.[13]
As a renowned health policy expert, she regularly writes for national newspapers such as The Guardian,[14][15][16] Financial Times[17] and Prospect Magazine[18] and is a regular on major current affairs and news programmes such as the BBC[19] and Channel 4 news.[20] Dixon also regularly gives evidence at House of Commons and Lords Select Committees and parliamentary seminars.[21][22]
Dixon was a trustee of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) (2011-2016),[23] and has served on the board of the UK's Care Quality Commission (CQC) (2013-2016),[24] the UK's Audit Commission (2003-2012)[25] and the UK's Healthcare Commission (2004-2009).[26]
Dixon led a national enquiry about published ratings of quality of NHS and social care providers in England (2013)[27][28] and later another enquiry about ratings for general practices (2015).[29] She was also a member of the Parliamentary Review Panel for the Welsh Assembly Government advising on the future strategy for the NHS and social care in Wales (2016–2018).[30]
She has also held visiting professorships at The London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE),[31] Imperial College London[1] and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)[32] and co-authored two books on the NHS.[33][34]
Dixon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to public health[35] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to the National Health Service and public health.[36]