Chief Clinical Information Officer

Job summary

Kernow Health CIC, on behalf of the Cornwall GP Collaborative Board, is seeking a Registered General Practitioner currently working in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly to take on the role of Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) for General Practice.

As (CCIO) for General Practice in Cornwall, you will be the principal clinical voice for general practice in digital and informatics decisions that affect Cornwall's practices. Working at one session per week, your role is focused and purposeful: to provide credible clinical oversight, to advocate for GP interests, and to ensure that digital decisions are grounded in the realities of practice life in Cornwall.

This is not a delivery role, you will not be expected to run programmes, manage projects, or implement systems. Your value is your clinical credibility, your understanding of general practice in Cornwall, and your ability to represent GP interests clearly and effectively in the right conversations.

The CCIO will maintain a constructive working relationship with the CIOS ICB Digital team, NHS England, and system partners, while maintaining clarity that their primary mandate is to serve the interests of Cornish general practice.

The CCIO is accountable to the Cornwall GP Collaborative Board, which represents the collective interests of GP practices across Cornwall and IoS. The role is hosted and supported by Kernow Health CIC.

Main duties of the job

The CCIO has three standing core responsibilities:

1. Clinical oversight and GP advocacy

Attend and contribute to the Cornwall GP Collaborative Board, advising on digital priorities, risks, and proposals from a frontline GP perspective.
Review IT decisions and digital programmes affecting general practice in Cornwall before they are agreed, and provide a clinical GP perspective.
Raise concerns and provide challenge where proposed digital changes risk increasing GP workload, compromising patient safety, or failing to serve practice needs.

2. Clinical safety

Hold (or support the oversight of) the Clinical Safety Officer function for GP-facing digital systems in Cornwall, in line with DCB0160 standards.
Ensure the GP Collaborative Board is sighted on digital clinical safety risks and that appropriate mitigation is in place.

3. System representation

Represent Cornwall's general practices at Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (CIOS) ICS digital governance meetings.
Provide regular, accessible updates to the GP Collaborative Board on system-level digital developments and their implications for practices.
In addition, the CCIO will agree annual priority focus areas with the GP Collaborative Board from a menu that includes digital strategy, clinical systems support, data and information governance, innovation and new technology, and digital equity. The contribution in these areas is advisory and influencing, not hands-on delivery.

About us

Time Commitment

This role is offered at one session per week (4-4.5 hours/5-7 hours per month). The session will be scheduled flexibly by agreement and will include some natural variation.

Kernow Health CIC is the GP federation for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly a Community Interest Company owned by and for our member practices. Our purpose is to support excellent, sustainable general practice across Cornwall, keeping GPs at the heart of out-of-hospital care.

The Cornwall GP Collaborative Board brings together GP practices and PCNs to provide collective leadership and advocacy across primary care in Cornwall, within the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System (CIOS ICS).

Cornwall is a remarkable place to live and work. Enjoy an exceptional quality of life from surfing beaches and fishing harbours to open moorland and historic market towns. With clean air, strong communities, excellent schools, and outstanding outdoor opportunities, it is ideal for those looking to balance a fulfilling career with a genuinely different way of life.

Kernow Health CIC is a Disability Confident Committed employer. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from GPs of all backgrounds.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Kernow Health CIC is the GP Federation for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, working on behalf of the countys general practices and their patients. We are a Community Interest Company owned by and for our member practices, with the explicit purpose of supporting excellent, sustainable general practice across Cornwall.

The Cornwall GP Collaborative Board brings together GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to provide collective leadership, advocacy, and coordination across primary care in Cornwall. Together, Kernow Health CIC and the GP Collaborative are the voice of general practice in Cornwall within the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System (CIOS ICS) and beyond.

Cornwall presents unique opportunities and challenges for digital primary care: a geographically dispersed rural and coastal population, significant health inequalities, a mix of practice sizes and digital maturity, and an NHS system in active digital transformation. This role is an exciting opportunity to shape that transformation from a primary care perspective.

1. Clinical Oversight and GP Advocacy

Attend and contribute to the Cornwall GP Collaborative Board, providing clinical oversight of digital matters affecting practices and advising on priorities, risks, and opportunities.
Review and provide a GP clinical perspective on digital proposals, IT procurement decisions, and system-change programmes that affect general practice in Cornwall before they are agreed.
Raise concerns and provide challenge where proposed digital changes risk increasing GP workload, compromising patient safety, or failing to serve practice needs.

2. Clinical Safety

Hold (or support the appointment and oversight of) the Clinical Safety Officer function for GP-facing digital systems in Cornwall, in line with DCB0160 standards.
Ensure the GP Collaborative Board is sighted on clinical safety risks arising from digital systems or changes, and that mitigation is in place.

3. System Representation

Represent Cornwall's general practices at CIOS ICS digital governance meetings and any other system forums where GP digital interests need a clinical voice.
Provide regular, accessible updates to the GP Collaborative Board on relevant system-level digital developments and their implications for practices.
Each year, the CCIO and the GP Collaborative Board will agree a small number of priority areas from the menu below. The CCIOs contribution in these areas will typically be advisory and influencing, helping shape direction, reviewing proposals, attending key meetings, and providing a GP clinical voice, rather than hands-on delivery.

4. Digital Strategy

Contribute a primary care perspective to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICS Digital Strategy.
Help the GP Collaborative articulate a shared digital vision for general practice in Cornwall.
Critically evaluate national NHS digital programmes (e.g. NHS App, federated data platforms) from a Cornwall GP perspective.

5. Clinical Systems and Practice Support

Advise on optimisation of GP clinical systems (EMIS, SystmOne) across practices and PCNs.
Identify and share good practice in digital workflows that reduce clinical burden.
Provide clinical input to any centralised support or training offered to practices on digital tools.

6. Data and Information Governance

Represent GP interests in data-sharing discussions, ensuring practices are appropriately recognised and protected.
Advise on the use of practice data for population health management and quality improvement.
Provide a clinical perspective on information governance compliance across practices.

7. Innovation and New Technology

Provide clinical oversight and critical evaluation of proposed new technologies (AI tools, online consultation, remote monitoring).
Ensure innovation proposals are clinically safe, evidence-based, and genuinely workload-reducing before they reach practices.
Support the sharing of digital innovation and learning across Cornwall's practices and PCNs.

8. Equity and Digital Inclusion

Advise on how digital solutions can be designed and implemented to reduce rather than widen health inequalities across Cornwall's diverse communities.
Represent the interests of practices in rural, coastal, and deprived areas where digital infrastructure and patient digital access may be more challenging.

9. Time Commitment and Working Arrangements

Activity - Approx. time per month

GP Collaborative Board meetings and preparation:1.5-2 hours

Reviewing digital proposals, papers, and consultations:1-1.5 hours

ICS/system digital meetings: (selective attendance)1 hour

Priority focus area work: (advisory, meetings, correspondence)1-2 hours

Clinical Safety Officer duties:0.5-1 hour

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Current GMC registration and inclusion on the GP Register
Currently working as a GP in a Practice in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly
Evidence of continuing professional development
Clinical Safety Officer training (DCB0160), or commitment to complete within 6 months of appointment

Desirable

Postgraduate qualification or substantial equivalent experience relevant to digital health, informatics, or clinical leadership
Formal qualification or training in informatics or digital health
Leadership training or demonstrate equivalent leadership experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name

Kernow Health CIC

Address

Cudmore House

Treliske Industrial Estate

Truro

Cornwall

TR1 3LP

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.kernowhealthcic.org.uk

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